


Babyproof

by Hurricane2813



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: M/M, T-Cest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-21 13:37:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14286078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hurricane2813/pseuds/Hurricane2813
Summary: Raph’s not so wonderful life goes spiraling out of control when a seventeen-year-old female turtle pops into his life, drugs him, ties him up, and ships him off in a plane heading for Japan where a certain ex prowls.





	1. Prologue

Prologue

The click of the metal door unlocking signaled to Raphael Hamato that his lockpicking skills weren’t as rusty as he had first thought. Rising back to his feet, he stuffed his lockpicks back into his brown leather jackets pockets and pushed open the door. 

He made his way quickly and silently to the back of the building, expertly avoiding the view of the security cameras installed in each of the rooms corners. He walked up to one of the many glass doors that lined the back wall and grabbed out a carton off the third shelf, careful to keep the delicate glass bottles from clanging together and alerting anyone that may still be in the building.

After successfully extracting his desired cargo, he retraced his steps to the back door right as the loud sirens of oncoming cop cars echoed from the front of the building and red and blue lights flashed against the alleyways walls. He scurried up the nearest fire escape right as two police men rounded the corner.

“Suckers.” Raph chuckled as he turned and sat on the edge of the rooftop. He dropped the carton beside him, took out one of the bottles, and bit off the cap before taking a swig of his stolen beverage. Watching as the police entered the gas station he had just come from.

“Aw, fuck.” Raph cringed as the alcohol crawled down his throat with fiery claws. He had yet to get used to the bitterness of beer, only having started drinking just a few months ago. It was surprisingly difficult to get drunk on beer alone, but he didn’t have the stomach to endure anything stronger. He only did it for the temporary memory washing it provided. Was it worth the hangover he would have to endure the next morning? Hell yes. As far as he was concerned, anything that distracted him from his thoughts was worth it.

Leo, of course, wouldn’t agree, but . . .

“Fuck . . .” Raph growled at himself.

There he went again. Thinking about him. The stupid turtle haunted him like a bad itch that wouldn’t go away, but it only burned when you scratched it.

He took another gulp of his beer, pushing himself through the discomfort of stripping away the inner layer of his throat, and the memory of the one person he had ever loved with it.

Raph snorted at his thoughts. 'Oh yeah, that’s the way you treat the people you care about?'

Leonardo Hamato had had every right to leave after the things he had said to him. Raph had tried to convince himself that it wasn’t his fault. That Leo should have understood he had only acted out because of the latest events that occurred shortly beforehand. Those thoughts had lasted for a short period of time after Leo had washed his hands of him. He knew he had went out of line. He had no right to target his stress and rage against Leo because he knew Leo was just as stressed and angry as him. Everyone had been at the time. Yet, Raph put it upon himself to increase the stress of the situation by pointing fingers and placing blame on the one person who would have understood him had he been sensible at the time.

'So much for not thinking about him.' Raph sighed heavily and took a smaller sip of his beer this time. He knew that once he had started, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. Leo was now burned into his thoughts for the rest of the night. 

'Great.'

Nonetheless, he knew what happened next was for the best. After he had irreparably damaged their relationship, Leo had packed up his bags and left. And not to the other side of town. Oh, hell no. He left. Like all the way to the other side of the country type of: left. And Mikey had been the one to tell him where he had gone. The coward had fled to some remote island on Japan, where he would never see that blue banded wearing fucker again. 

Why didn’t he go after Leo after he admitted to himself he had been in the wrong and he was the douchebag, you ask? 

Raph chuckled. The sound cold and empty, even to his own ears. 

There was no point. He knew it ahead of time too, that Leo would not be forgiving him this time. He had blew it when the words, 'I hate you', left his lips. True, he had said similar lines before in the heat of an argument and they recovered. But he knew from the look on Leo’s face after he said those words – along with many others – that that had been the last straw for him. He was done giving him another chance. Done hearing his mate tell him he hated him when things got tough. That this was his fault. 

He couldn’t blame Leo for leaving. No one wanted to repeatedly hear 'I love you' and 'I hate you' like a friggin light switch whenever the situation seems fitting.

So, yeah. Raph had let Leo go. 

Forever.

“Lucky bastard.” Raph muttered under his breath. Considered taking another drink, then deciding against it. There was no point anymore.

No matter what he said about Leo, he envied him. He would give his left nut to be where Leo was. Away from this decaying country and relaxing on some remote island like he was on friggin vacation! Not giving a single shit about his brothers’ constant battle for survival as, every day, Shredder gains more power. His army multiplying from hundreds, to thousands, to millions. Conquering every state till he has all of America under his boot. The government had no idea the threat inside their own nation until it was too late. The United States Army stood no chance when they finally fought back. And America destroyed itself from the inside out, much to its enemy’s delight. 

However, it was only a matter of time before Shredder moves his army onto the rest of the world. 

Raph had no doubt he would succeed. 

Already, several other countries had tried to bargain with the Shredder of visions of a One World Nation. Unfortunately, those sorry suckers have no idea that Shredder isn’t including them in his plans. Once he’s fully prepared, he would move his convoy to his next target location and, Raph was certain, they would welcome him with open arms. Then, before they can even realize their mistake, Shredder would crush them as he done to the U.S. government. 

You didn’t need to be some fortune teller to see this.

Yet, Raph still fought the fight he knew he wasn’t going to win. So why was he still doing it? Probably for the same reason these stupid cops were trying to arrest the criminal who broke into a gas station. What else was left to do? There was no way in hell Raph was going to be a servant of Shredder. These cops down there, still searching the area for evidence, could probably relate. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down fighting. There wasn’t a cause anymore. There wasn’t even anyone to save. It was a dog eat dog world now. But Raph wasn’t going to lay down. Not until his last breath left him. 

“YAAARRGGHH!”

Raph shouted in surprise as something grabbed onto his shoulders and shook him. Adrenaline pumping into his veins, Raph swung the half empty beer bottle at his assailant. His attacker pulled back just in time to avoid the blow and the bottle flew from Raph’s hand, down the four-story building to shatter on the ground below.

Several officers nearby were startled, their flashlights swinging to where the broken bottle landed.

Raph haphazardly tried to get to his feet to face his opponent, but his ability to hold his liquor was not that strong yet and he found all of New York had been built on a merry-go-round.

“Oh my god! You should have seen your face!”

Raph growled and plopped himself back down upon realization that he was not being attacked, but pranked by his youngest sibling, Michelangelo Hamato. 

“Damn it, Mikey! You were lucky I didn’t bash your head in.”

Mikey snorted with laughter as he eased himself down next to him. Raph didn’t miss the subtle wince that crossed Mikey’s face as he did so. Reminding him that they were no longer spring chicken anymore. Nor turtle for that matter.

They had a generous amount of years left to live. More so than the average human, thanks to the mutagen still swimming through their systems. But the fact that they weren’t genetically capable of surviving in this world naturally and then you add that to the amount of abuse their bodies take on a daily basis, they were finding themselves experiencing a lot more aches and pains sooner than expected. At the age of thirty, they were feeling more like fifty. He wasn’t looking forward to what sixties would feel like.

“Yeah whatever, you moved like my grandma.”

Raph glared at him, “Very funny Mike.” 

Mikey smiled at him as if the world wasn’t slowly dying around them and snatched one of his beer bottles from the carton. He popped open the cap much like he had and chugged back a brave amount. A few short seconds later, Mikey spat back out the contents. 

“Ew, nasty! Seriously, how in the hell do you even drink this stuff.” Mikey coughed and wiped his lip with the back of his hand. He sneered at the bottle and tossed it to the side. 

The two turtles watched the almost full bottle fall and crash to the ground a few feet away from Raph’s, narrowly missing the two police men examining the bottle. Their heads jerked up along with their flashlights in search of the culprits and Raph and Mikey quickly ducked behind the wall as their beams passed overhead.

“Real smooth shell-for-brains.” Raph snarled.

Mikey grinned. “What? It’s not like it hit them.”

Raph shook his head and went to sit back on the edge once the coast was clear. “I don’t understand why you keep trying to drink beer. You never liked it before, why would you like it now?”

Mikey shrugged his shoulders. “I could ask you the same question.”

“Touche.” Raph sighed and grabbed for another bottle. They both knew why Raph drank. Mikey was dumb but he wasn’t stupid. He didn’t need to spell it out for him.

The two remained silent for several minutes as they watched the cops below began rounding up groups to go search the neighboring buildings for suspects.

Then the silence was broken as Mikey said, “Dude, I don’t even know how you call yourself a ninja when you don’t even use stealth anymore. He’d be so disappointed in you.”

That last part was muttered but Raph still caught it. His brow raised, he didn’t know if Mikey was referring to their father or Leo but he chose to ignore the obvious invitation to ‘get real’ with Mikey as he did every other time. 

Instead he said, “You’re starting to sound like Fearless.” 

Raph snorted at the irony of that nickname. Their ‘leader’ didn’t seem so ‘fearless’ anymore. Not after he hauled ass to the other side of the friggin planet.

Mikey chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

The two didn’t speak much about Leo. They spoke even less about Don though. 

Raph felt a sour feeling heavy in his gut at the thought of the second youngest of his brothers. It had been eleven years since Donatello Hamato’s unpredicted and unexplainable disappearance. He had left no trace behind, no clue, of where their purple banded brother had gone. It simply looked like he just vanished into thin air. Poof!

While the rest of them were left to wonder whether he had been kidnapped, ran away, or been killed. Even to this day, he couldn’t provide you with any theories on Donnie’s disappearance. It was simply an unsolvable mystery. 

They had been only eighteen at the time. 

The brothers had spent three years frantically searching for him. Having assumed that Don had been kidnapped by the Shredder, they had attempted to rescue him. Only for them to find out that Shredder never even had him in the first place; and at the expense of Casey’s life. Mikey had been taken prisoner as well that day. And the rest of them barely escaped.

Raph chewed his lower lip and glanced at the stub where Mikey’s arm should have been. They had eventually got him back again, but their little bright-eyed jokester had never been the same since. Oh sure, he continued to play pranks after he recovered from the ordeal, but the familiar brightness and innocence that made up his little brother was missing. Leaving behind this dark, rugged, scarred up, shadow of the person he used to be.

That was the year that everything went to hell. With the loss of his brother and his best friend, plus the threat of loosing another brother; Raph had been a grieving, raging mess. That was when the arguments started. When he had used his own mate as a punching bag for his emotions. Leo had tried desperately to keep their relationship from falling apart. They had managed to stabilize things again after a year and they survived for another two until, on their twenty-fourth birthday, Splinter had fallen ill. 

Leo had began distancing himself from Raph. They never spoke and soon Raph had rarely seen his older brother. It was obvious, the rat was old and was dying. However, Raph refused to see reason. April had attempted to talk to him several times, but at this point, Raph had convinced himself that the two of them had fully given up on Splinter. The anger had sprouted back again and continued to grow as Leo locked himself up, never to come out, not even for meals. Raph had made several attempts to talk things out with him, but the grieving turtle had continued to push and push him away until he had just popped.

The argument went on for hours, but it was only until Leo started shouting he never needed him, he just wanted to be left alone, when he lost it. The words had hurt even as Raph had realized they weren’t honest, but in his state at the time he had only felt vengeful. Raph had then returned the slap by placing the blame of their father’s death on Leo. 

'Shut up! Fuck you, Raph! Shut up!' Leo had roared in anger. 'God, I hate you!'

That had been the first time Leo had said that to him, even in a fit of anger. Raph hadn’t cared at the time. He had returned that as well.

They officially broke up at the age of twenty-five. Five minutes after that particular argument finally ended.

The rest of the family split apart. Finding new homes of their own in separate locations. They didn’t talk much for another year.

By age twenty-six, Leo left for Japan and Shredder had pretty much claimed all of America as his own. 

Four years later they were all in their thirties. Mikey was the only one with communication to Leo. April and Mikey had moved in together. And Raph lived alone where he fought the foot police as his night time job. Where was a good time traveling device when you needed it?

“Will you quit that?” Mikey said with disgust. Drawing Raph back to the present. He glanced at him curiously.

“Quit what?”

“That.” Mikey pointed a finger at him. Raph stared in confusion. “That face your making. The one that says your thinking about something depressing. Your giving yourself wrinkles, man. More than you already have anyway.”

Raph rolled his eyes and slapped his hand away. “And I should care about my appearance, why?”

“No one wants to look at your old mug Raph.”

“You are literally the only one I ever see anymore Mike. You and the foot soldiers, but I don’t think they care.”

“And what makes you think I want to see your wrinkles? You keep this up and you’re not going to have anyone to bring you chicken noodle soup when you get a cold.”

Raph smirked. “Like you look any better.”

“Puh-lease. I’m as beautiful as always. I haven’t aged a bit.”

Raph laughed. “Yeah, whatever get’s you through the night.”

Mikey glared. “Okay, that’s it. No more soup for you. And no calling me to pick you up medicine either.”

“You never picked up medicine for me and I’ve never called for it either.”

“Yeah well, if you do. Don’t count on me to pick it up for you.”

“Right.” Raph chuckled. The alcohol must be kicking in. He was actually starting to feel a little normal. Glancing at his almost empty bottle, Raph tipped back the last on his beverage before allowing the bottle to drop from his hands. Like the last two, it shattered on impact and alerted three more police men. 

“Hey! You kids! Get down here, now!” One of the men called as their lights flashed on them. The two rose up to their feet. Raph a little slower than Mikey.

“Aw, how sweet! He called us kids!” The three cops entered the building they were on. It would only take them a few minutes to get up here. 

Mikey stretched as he said, “Well, anyway, nice catchin up with ya Raphie-boy. Glad to know you’re still not dead. By the way, you need a lift home? You look wasted.”

Raph smirked and waved his brother away. “I am wasted, but no, I don’t need a lift. Thanks.”

“If you say so. Oh, and call sometime will you! April has been asking about you lately. She really misses you.”

Raph grimaced guilty. “Yeah, yeah. Sure.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. “You say that, but you never do.”

“I promise this time.”

“Yeah, you said that last time too.” Mikey said dryly. He sighed and shook his head. “Just, be safe Raph.”

“I always am.”

“That’s a big pile of croc shit and you know it.” Mikey laughed and took off into the night. He probably wouldn’t be seeing him again for another few nights. What Mikey did when he wasn’t pestering him, he didn’t know, but he didn’t bother asking. Somehow, Raph had never felt like it was his business. As if Mikey had an entirely different life from his. So, he did what he was always good at and kept to himself.

“Freeze!”

All three of the cops from down below, piled out of the roofs doorway. Their guns pointed on him. 

Raph grinned and raised his hands in the air, palms out. Swaying a little. “Welcome to the party gentlemen.”

Their eyes widened upon sight of the mutant turtle. He could see their automatic fear of him. The unknown. The unusual. It always scared the newbies. And these cops, the ones still trying to fight for justice, had a lot to be afraid of. Luckily for them, it wasn’t him.

Raph turned and was about to jump for the next roof when one of the officers shouted, “W-Wait!”

Raph turned to him curiously, “Yeah?”

“W-What are you?”

He’d been asked that question many, many times in his life. He wasn’t going to bother trying to explain it them. “Just some guy.” He said and hopped to the next roof. They didn’t fire.

 

Raph jumped down the appropriate alleyway that lead to his home. His feet so silent against the cement below despite landing from a two-story drop. He didn’t bother being sneaky anymore. At this time of night, this area was bathed in darkness regardless of the dim, flickering street lights posted on each block. Very few windows glowed with light and even fewer cars would pass by. This was Raph’s favorite section of the city. People used to call it the ‘bad side of town’ but the city had gotten so bad everywhere that it was just known as the ‘quiet side of town’ instead.

Raph walked up to the apartment building in front of him that had five windows on the bottom floor, he opened up the third window that lead into his apartment.

He had kept an anonymous profile with the landlord, who was surprisingly understanding of his ‘predicament.’ He had fed him a fake story of suffering from a near-fatal car accident and despite the wounds had healed, he wasn’t comfortable being out in public. He had told him his ‘wife’ had left him and he needed a place to stay for a while. It took Raph some time to create a fake profile of him and his ‘past rentals’ without his genius brother to draw it up for him. But with April’s generous help, they had managed well enough. Once the landlord had agreed, he had paid him in cash, by mail, every month as he had promised. The man slowly but surely trusted him more and more.

There were only a few incidents where Raph had to answer the door, to which he dressed from head to toe, with the excuse of sun poisoning as his explanation.

Other than that though, he had no problems. His neighbors weren’t overly fond of him. He never made noise, so they had no complaints, but he was never friendly with them the few times they had tried to welcome him home.  
Out of force of paranoia and just plain curiosity, Raph had done a background check on his neighbors, just to be safe. He had found out that a pretty blonde woman lived in the room on his right. Her name was Zoe Some Last Name He Didn’t Know How To Pronounce, who was a student in law school, had a couple of abusive boyfriends in her past, and parents that barely tolerated her. The girl had never committed a crime aside from a few speeding tickets and was, as far as he could tell, innocent.

In the room across from him, lived a little old lady who had an unhealthy obsession with potted plants and would go into anaphylactic shock around anything furry. Thank god Raph only had scales. He had researched a little on her past and was pleasantly surprised to find out the woman used to be a biker back in the day. She had been charged multiple times with vandalism and had dated copious amount of men who were decked up with tattoos and piercings. Nowadays, the woman would go to her yoga classes three times a week and her knitting classes only two.

Then, there was Frank Smith, who lived to the room on his left. Frank was a middle-aged bald man who had accomplished growing a beard down to his nipples and topping the world record for the amount of coke cans you can drink in a day. Raph had often gotten complaints from his brothers back when they were teens about the volume of his snores at night, but Frank would have shocked all of them with his obnoxious sawing noises at the dead of night. And these paper-thin walls did nothing to cut the noise. Frank had easily convinced Raph that he was a felon despite his ‘harmless’ appearance. So other than Frank, Raph had zero problems with his home.

Raph stiffened right as he stepped into his apartment. He had the sudden sense that someone was watching him.

Slowly, Raph pulled his leg out from his window while his hand drifted over to where his sai was tucked in his belt beneath his jacket. His eyes scanned the buildings that surrounded him but he saw nothing out of sorts.

Then, past the noise of Frank’s thunderous snores and television static, he heard the creak of metal above him. Raph’s eyes darted up just in time to see the black figure jump from his buildings fire escape and land on top of him. The weight of the figure surprised him and his knees ended up collapsing from beneath him. Going with the momentum, Raph continued to roll, knocking his attacker off of him.

Raph immediately regretted the amount of alcohol he had consumed as he attempted to scramble back to his feet. The sweat on his palms making it harder to grab for his sais. The world was spinning before him and he swore there were three figures in front of him instead of one as he had first seen. He couldn’t make out any details. The shadows seeming to hug the person, hiding away his physique. Plus, his eyes were beginning to blur up.

“Who the hell are you?” Raph snarled. Unaware of how little his words were decipherable past his slurs. 

The figure didn’t answer him. Instead it lunged for him. Prepared for this movement, Raph attempted to raise his sais for an attack, but for reasons unknown to him he couldn’t quite get them up fast enough before the figure tackled him. The air departed from Raph’s lungs as the two went tumbling down. They wrestled on the ground for a while. Raph slowly getting irritated by the slipperiness of his opponent, he just couldn’t quite get him pinned down. Finally, his assailant seemed to have had enough of him, and raised his fist up in the air and hammered it down against Raph’s temple. 

Raph’s drunk brain rattled in his skull, momentarily stunning him and leaving him vulnerable. He blinked rapidly as black spots began to fade over his vision. He could feel his attacker moving above him, but he wasn’t sure what he was doing. Wasn’t he going to finish him off?

Right as that thought left his brain, Raph felt something sharp press into the side of his neck. Heat began spreading from the puncture area to the rest of his body, like when you drink something hot on a winters night. Raph attempted to move but was startled to find he couldn’t. His limbs felt as if they were pinned down with weights. The pounding in his head slowly beginning to fade away along with his care. 

The realization was instantaneous. He had just been drugged!

Despite this conclusion though, Raph couldn’t remember why this should bother him. He couldn’t feel if his attacker was still on top of him or not. He was sure this was a bad thing, but he couldn’t remember why. Perhaps, this was another mad scientist looking for a subject to test on. Perhaps he was working for the Shredder. 

A bit of panic stirred within him and he tried to fight against the bondage, but it was no use. The drug was far too powerful.

He panted and blinked against the spots that were threatening to consume his vision. Through them he could barely make out the dark figure of his attacker hovering above him. He saw it move as if reaching for something and then it pulled out a knife. The silvery blade reflecting against what little light could reach them from behind the building. The figure bent down beside him. Raph tried to pin-point any substantial features, but he still couldn’t see anything.

The figure pressed the blade against Raph’s skin. “I’m sorry, but I need you to bleed for me.”

The voice was male and somewhat familiar, but with Raph’s drugged up brain, he couldn’t remember. Raph moaned, the only thing he was capable of now and his eyes began to grow heavy. He couldn’t feel the blade anymore, and it was only until he could see the figure holding a plastic cylinder container filled with his blood that he ever realized he had been cut.

Raph knew he was going to die. It was nothing how he expected his death to be. He thought he would at least go out fighting. Instead he was going to be murdered in an alleyway because he was drunk. He briefly wondered how long it was going to take for Mikey to find out. He wondered if Leo would. If he would care. If he would grieve.  
Maybe. Maybe not. 

Whatever happened now, Raph didn’t seem to care anymore. He just wanted to sleep. And sleep he did. The drowsiness overcame Raph and his eyes drifted closed. The sounds of the city in the distance muting.

 

Raph awoke groggily. His head pounding and his body aching. He had experienced some massive hang overs but this one took the cake.

Groaning, Raph pried open his eyes, but quickly shut them at the bright light above him. It took a few more minutes, but eventually, he got used to his surroundings and he found that the light above him was the sky turning dawn. The sun hadn’t quite reached over the buildings, but it lit up everything enough for Raph to identify where he was. He was not in his bedroom as he had first suspected. Instead, he was lying on a pile of trash bags next to a dumpster in an alleyway behind his apartment building.

Confused, Raph slowly pushed himself up and was surprised by the soreness of his body. His limbs were trembling, sweat dampened his skin, and his stomach roiled. He’d had similar symptoms from a hangover before, but never to this degree. What had happened to him last night?

Raph’s eyes landed on his lone sai sitting a few feet away from him, half buried in the trash. Bending down, he scooped it up and examined it. There was no blood. Nothing to indicate it had been used besides the few scrapes it had gotten from the pavement. He slipped the sai into his belt and realized that its twin was missing. Raph immediately started rifling through the garbage in search of it but it was nowhere to be found. He wondered if someone had stolen it. If it had landed out here in the open instead of hidden like his other one was, then most likely some homeless guy or drugee passed by and found it.

Raph sighed irritably but chose not to worry about it. This wasn’t the first time he lost a sai. Hence the reason Splinter never gave him special made like he did for Leo and Don. Mikey was just as bad.

Raph stumbled over to his apartments window that was still ajar and slowly crawled through.

“Great. Just great.” Raph growled to himself at the mess his kitchen was in. Just as he’d expected, someone had ransacked his place. It was never a good idea to leave an opening to your home at night. Pots, pans, and cooking utensils he never used were strewn about the black and white honeycomb linoleum floor. His kitchen never had an update since the 70’s apparently, with its migraine inducing sunshine yellow cabinets, to its floral wallpaper backsplash, to its old antique stove. Raph didn’t mind the style too much just because he was never in here longer than five minutes. He never cooked anymore and he doubted he would be any good at it if he tried to. His gourmet meals mostly consisted of microwavable burritos, tv dinners, and Chinese take-out’s.

Deciding he would clean up the mess after he patched himself up and had a good, long nap, he shuffled through the debris and into the living room. His living room was empty to begin with. He only had three pieces of furniture; his brown leather reclining chair, his side table that held a lamp, and the entertainment cabinet that held his twenty-one-inch Panasonic television . . . that was no longer there. Of course, his one valuable object in the house would be taken. Not that it was that big of a loss, but still.

Raph continued on through the living room and into the bedroom which was just as empty. His only means for a bed was a futon which had a pile of red sheets and pillows stacked on top and a nightstand with a small lamp and a digital clock.

Across from the bedroom was a door that lead into the bathroom. He went into it and opened the medicine cabinet behind his mirror for the pain medication he supplied specifically for hangovers. He closed the cabinet and poured a good amount of the little white pills into his palm before tossing them into his mouth and grabbing a plastic cup from off the sink, filled it up with water, and chugged them down. 

Raph sighed and allowed the sink to support his weight. All that walking had made him exhausted and weak. He really shouldn’t drink that much at night, but he needed the distraction yesterday more than anything. Last night had been his and Leo’s anniversary. Or it would have been had they still been together. Either way, he couldn’t afford the memories now.

Raph turned on the sink and splashed water on his face. When he raised his head to look at himself in the mirror, his eyes immediately zeroed in on the foreign bandage around his left bicep he was certain wasn’t there before. A spot of blood had soaked through the material.

Hesitantly, Raph reached over and unraveled the bandage from around his arm to reveal a cut about the length of his index finger. The wound was already all scabbed up and healing. 

It took Raph a moment to wonder how that had happened and why this was such a concern for him, when memories came flooding back at once. He was heading home and he was drunk when he had been attacked by an unknown person. He had gotten his ass handed to him and then, he had been drugged. He remembered the figure had told him it wanted him to bleed and in the next moment it had a vial that contained his blood. But the figure didn’t kill him. Why?

Raph groaned at his returning headache and dropped his head into his hands. This was bad. He didn’t know what that thing wanted with his blood, but for whatever reason, it couldn’t be for good. He needed to find that guy and get his blood back before he does something stupid with it. Like make more mutagen and more monsters.

“Fuck.” Raph moaned pitifully. He felt horrible. He wanted nothing more than to say there wasn’t anything to worry about and crawl back into bed to sleep for the rest of the day, but he knew that would be a lie. 

He might have just started another apocalypse.


	2. It's a Girl

Seventeen Years Later

Raphael yanked out his sai from the last corpse of many to fall at his feet and wiped the blood from the blade onto the black and red leather foot uniforms his opponents were clad in, then sheathed his weapon back into his belt. The bodies laid in piles around him atop large puddles of their own blood, the alleyway a picture of a cheap horror movie massacre.

“Well, that about wraps up my work day.” Raph mumbled to the corpses with a grin as he wiped away the sweat and blood that dripped from his brow.

“Wow. Slaughter house much?” 

Raph snorted. Turning around he wasn’t surprised to find his little brother jumping off of the fire escape and into the middle of the blood bath. Mikey walked over to him with a disgusted sneer on his lips, careful not to step on any of the bodies.

“Seriously, you’re not in the least bit subtle.”

“Subtle?” Raph chuckled. “What, were you expecting them to surrender themselves over? These guys won’t hesitate to chop your head off Mike. Even if it did make a mess. Not that there’s enough blood in your brains to have any cleaning up to do afterward.”

Mikey’s bottom lip jutted out. “Well you don’t have to be mean about it. I’m just saying, you could be a little bit neater when you kill them. There are people that live around here, bro.”

“Actually, they should be thanking me. Without Shredder’s obsession with killing us, most likely they would have been taken as slaves by now.”

“Be that as it may,” Mikey said. “It wouldn’t kill ya to be a little less Chain Saw Massacre and more Assassin’s Creed.” 

“First off, I’m not an assassin Mikey. I’m a ninja. Second, I’m not a video game character.”

“Whatever.” Mikey shrugged, he kneeled beside one of the bodies. “Hey, I think this one is still alive.”

“Then do something about it.” Raph said, not bothering to even look at the body.

“Should I let him go?”

Raph stared confusingly at the back of Mikey’s head. “What the hell do you mean by ‘let him go’.”

Mikey glanced over his shoulder at Raph. “Well, you could use him for a message to Shredder or something.”

Raph laughed. “Yeah, like the Shredder doesn’t know our intentions already.”

Mikey’s shoulders rose up and fell back down again. “It was just a suggestion.”

Raph shook his head and moved over to where the man was moaning and pleading with them to spare him. Raph had already spared many of the foot soldiers at one point in hopes that the message would come across to the Shredder but it proved to be futile. They always came back and in bigger numbers each time. He was done being the nice guy.

Raph unsheathed his sai from his belt. “W-Wait . . . Wait!” The man sat up on one arm while his other was outstretched in front of him defensively. “Please, spare me. I have a family. A wife and a son. Please!”

Raph’s brow quirked. He recognized this type of defense. It was a last resort when all hope of surviving seemed lost. These well-trained soldiers would go down on their knees and pathetically beg at his feet for their life. Even going so far as to try to guilt trip him by bringing their families into this. He had learned it was just better to hardened himself against it. 

“Well, you shouldn’t have gotten involved with the Shredder in the first place.” 

Raph raised his sai and the man shrieked again, “Wait! Please!” He reached up and quickly yanked off his hood, revealing the face of a young man. His blonde hair and pale face was painted with blood and bruises and his brown eyes were wide, fearful, and pleading. 

“The Shredder . . . h-he forced me to do this. He threatened to k-kill my family if I refused. He tortured m-me until I agreed. Please, what I do . . . i-it’s all for them.” 

Raph closed his eyes and steeled himself against the guilt that was harassing him. He knew if he spared this guy, he would just come back with more buddies to kill him. To hurt his own family. 

Raph opened his eyes and met the man’s with an icy stare. “The only way you can protect your family is if you get rid of the only thing that’s endangering them, and that’s you. The Shredder will have no reason to go after them if he can’t use them as leverage over you.”

Raph raised his weapon again and as the man screamed for him to wait for the third time, Raph ignored him. The sai sliced through the layers of fabric and flesh like a hot knife through butter until the man’s pained cries slowly died away to silence. Raph yanked out his weapon and cleaned it off on the man’s clothing before returning it to its sheath.

Mikey grimaced. “Brutal dude.”

Raph didn’t respond. He turned and walked passed Mikey towards the nearest fire escape. “You know,” Mikey began and Raph paused. “you could avoid all these dramatics if you just kill them the first time.”

Raph rolled his eyes. “Save your criticisms on my job for someone who actually cares Mikey.”

“Just saying dude. I’ve just killed twenty of these guys in the last hour without any of them begging me for mercy. You getting rusty there, big boy?” 

“It’s not a competition.”

Mikey snorted. “Yeah well, if it were. I’d win.”

“In your dreams, hot shot.” Raph laughed.

“No, I’m serious Raph. I’ve kept a chart and it says that I’ve killed more men then you in the last six months.”

Raph hopped down from the fire escape he was climbing and stared intriguingly at Mikey. “Oh yeah? I would like to see this chart of yours.”

Mikey smirked as if he had expected as much. “Sure, come on over and I’ll show you.”

Raph should have seen that one coming. Mikey had been trying to get him to visit April again for years now and while Mikey had sworn that she didn’t hold any grudge against him for the loss of her husband, Raph couldn’t help but continue to feel guilty for a thing he couldn’t have controlled. Yet, he still believed that if he had done things differently, perhaps Casey might still be alive. Had Raph had just stopped to think about things instead of jumping head first into everything, he might have avoided his best friend from being a human sacrifice. These were the thoughts that haunted him everyday whenever the red-head popped into his mind; and these were the thoughts that kept him from ever visiting her. 

Mikey must have seen the guilt on Raph’s expression because he immediately squeezed his shoulder and softly said, “You know she never blamed you for him.”

Raph sighed and nodded. “I know she doesn’t.”

“But you do. You need to forgive yourself for something you can’t change Raph. Come on, she really wants to see you.”

Raph bit his lip. “I don’t know, Mike . . .”

“Tomorrow night. You will come over for dinner tomorrow night and we’ll just talk and hang out like we used to. It’ll be fun!” Mikey’s baby blue eyes pleaded with him.

Automatically Raph opened his mouth to refuse as he usually did but Mikey quickly interrupted him. “Just, think about it first. Okay? Call me tomorrow if you want to come over. You know you will always be welcomed.”

Raph sighed defeatedly and nodded. “Fine, but don’t tell April until I’ve made my decision.”

Mikey’s face immediately lit up like the fourth of July. “You got it bro! Trust me, you won’t regret it!”

Raph didn’t bother commenting on it. He honestly didn’t know if he would be giving Mikey that call tomorrow. While he loved April and Mikey to bits and would jump in front of a bullet for them any day, he had grown used to being a loner. Not that he was ever that social to begin with, but still. He doubted he could hold a proper conversation with them, let alone keep it up for the whole evening.

With a quick goodbye to his little brother, Raph took to the roofs and began sprinting in the direction of his home. The wind was surprisingly cool for this summer’s night and Raph found himself refreshed by the time he made it back to his apartment. He decided to push thoughts about tomorrow night’s rendezvous to the back of his mind for a later concern and focus on just relaxing. He did want to sleep tonight.

Raph opened his apartments window and crawled through, freezing at the sight of his trashed home. Not that there was much to trash it with besides the empty beer cans and bottles and burrito wrappings but he remembered specifically that everything had been in the waste basket before he left.

This was another robbery.

With silent movements, Raph eased himself off the countertops and crept around the island, over the debris, and towards the living room where he noticed the trash was trailing off towards. 

Adrenaline spiked into Raph’s system as he heard a clatter of a can behind him. He spun around and unsheathed his sai, prepared to face his opponent when something solid smacked him across the face and sent stars exploding in his eyes. Raph was vaguely aware of his body tumbling across the island and landing on the other side but a few long seconds later, a wave of pain washed over him. Starting at the top of his head and working its way down. Slowly, the ringing started to fade and he could hear a clang and a gasp. Another handful of seconds later Raph’s vision followed.

Apparently, he had been knocked unconscious because a familiar and loved face came into view. Hands over his mouth and sapphire eyes wide with shock. No wait, they didn’t look quite blue. They looked almost green. Were they always like that?

“Oh my god! Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hit you that hard, I swear!” 

Raph stared confusingly at the face of his ex-lover. His voice sounded weird. Higher pitched. “Leo?”

“Oh shit, I gave you a concussion, didn’t I? Oh, dad is going to be so pissed.”

Okay, now he was really confused. Their dad was long dead. And since when did Leo ever call Splinter ‘dad’? The most casual he went was ‘Father.’

Groaning, Raph slowly picked himself up, using the island as leverage. His head began swimming once he made it to his knees but after a few seconds break, he managed to make it back to his feet. His vision blacked out for a moment but when it finally cleared, he was again standing face to face with Leonardo. 

No. Not Leo.

Leo didn’t have green eyes but Raph couldn’t mistake that beautiful mint green skin as Leo’s. Raph’s eyes travelled away from the face and down his body and his eyes widened.

“The hell?” This was not Leo.

Unless Leo somehow had a sex change, he was fairly certain that his oldest brother did not have breasts. Or a skinny waist. Or wide hips. Raph was certain this is what the women called an ‘hourglass figure’. Which Leo, again, did not have. 

“Um, hell-ooo?” Raph didn’t immediately register the three-fingered hand waving in front of his face until said hand began slapping him against the cheek. “Hey! Eyes up here, buddy!” 

Raph blinked a few times but eventually he pulled himself out of his trance and back up to the face that was clearly as feminine as the rest of her body. She was slightly rounder and softer in the face than Leo, with a strip of violet cloth around her large, round eyes, and much fuller lips than any of the brothers.

Another full inspection of her body concluded she was also short. Shorter than April by at least a couple of inches. The top of her head coming to maybe his collarbone if he was judging right visually. 

Finally, once the shock had fully passed, Raph picked his jaw from off the ground and narrowed his eyes on her. “Who the hell are ya and why the fuck do ya look like mah brother? And why are ya in mah home?”

The mutant shrank a little at his voice and she backed up a couple of inches. Good. She should be scared of him. “W-Well . . . it’s kind of a long story.” She muttered awkwardly. Eyes darting to the walls rather than him.

Raph laughed. “Well then we ought tah best get comfortable now because ya are not leaving until ya start coughing up answers, girly.”

She sneered. “Aren’t you charming.”

Raph snorted. “If you wanted charming, you should of tried knocking on the front door first.” 

The turtle’s eyes met his and a brow quirked. “And you think my showing up at your front door would’ve given me a different reaction?”

“Yeah, you’re right. You still wouldn’t have been able to leave without answering questions.”

“Plus, you of all people should know that mutants don’t generally walk around in public.” She pointed out.

Raph took in her outfit. She was wearing a black hoodie and ripped jeans. Only the holes in her jeans didn’t look like they were put there for looks. She also didn’t appear to be armed either. Whatever it was that she hit him with, she no longer had on her. Raph glanced over and found a frying pan lying in the middle of the trashed floor. There’s the culprit. 

“Mutants also don’t break into other mutants’ home.” Raph retorted.

The turtle threw her hands in the air with exasperation. “Well, I’m sorry I didn’t leave you a voice message or something like: Oh hey, yeah, I’m a mutant female turtle and my dad is related to you! Would you like to meet up sometime? Have a coffee or what not? Call me back when you have time for a little chit chat, m’kay? By the way, I also didn’t have your phone number and . . .”

“Wait. Wait. Wait.” Raph interrupted her. “Did you just say your dad is related to me?”

The turtle blinked, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. “Did I say that?”

“Yes, you did. What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You got a fixation with ‘hell’ don’t you?” 

Raph growled in annoyance. “Answer me!”

“Okay! Okay! Calm down! My name is Arianna Hamato. I’m seventeen years old and I’m the daughter of Leonardo Hamato.”

Down went Raph’s jaw again. How? Why? This made no sense! Leo? His Leo has a seventeen-year-old daughter? Since when? Why didn’t he tell him? Raph shook his head, stumbling back against the island again for support. He was suddenly starting to feel his true age. Shocks like this were unhealthy to the body, weren’t they?

“I know this is a lot to take in, but . . .”

“I don’t believe you.” Raph said, interrupting her again.

Arianna blinked. “What?”

“I said,” Raph began, irritated. “I don’t believe you.”

“W-Well . . .” Arianna sputtered, at a loss as to what to do now. “Well, how the hell would you explain this?” She gestured to her body.

Raph shrugged. “I don’t know. Coincidence? Maybe you’re an hallucination from that hit I took.”

“I’m the one that hit you!” She shouted.

Raph decided to ignore her and moved over to the waste basket that was lying on its side near the refrigerator. He retrieved it and began picking up the mess that the robbers must have made. Yeah, that had to be it. Robbers have broken into his apartment again and they were the ones that hit him, resulting in the hallucination of this strange girl that manifested from his missing Leo. That made perfect sense.

“Did you even hear a word I just said?” Arianna demanded.

“I’m not listening.”

“Well, listen to me now! I’m telling the truth! I’m Leonardo’s daughter and you are my . . .”

Like a five-year-old child, Raph stuck his free finger against his ear and started shouting, “La, la, la, la, la, la, la!”

Arianna growled with impatience and stomped over to Raph. She snatched the waste basket from his hands and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. “I was trying to be polite but since you insist on being immature, I’m just going to have to tell you outright that you are also my dad. Raphael Hamato has a daughter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well looky here! I got a new chapter out! And a lot sooner than I ever expected, so yay me! Okay, this chapter started as one large one but then I decided to cut it in two so yes, you are now going to be left with this surprise cliff hanger. If anyone has any thoughts or theories about how the hell this chickadee came to be, I would love to hear them so I can either laugh at them because it's not actually what happens or cry because you figured it out too soon. 
> 
> Also comments and opinions are very much appreciated. They help motivate me. :)
> 
> But, because I had gotten a little ahead of myself for this past week and half, I am now capable of setting a date for the next chapter's release and can also guarantee that it will be released. Woo-hoo!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any TMNT characters. Just Arianna Hamato.


	3. Viva La Vacay

Despite all of Raph’s attempts to ignore the girl, he simply could not ignore that bombshell that exploded in his backyard. Him? A father? Her? His daughter? 

“Hello? Is there still someone home?” Arianna waved her hand in front of Raph’s eyes, but again, the movement didn’t register. “I think I broke him.” She nervously bit on her lip as she patiently waited for this news to fully sink in. 

Eventually it did and she decided she preferred it when he was broken.

“The fuck ya talkin about?” Raph growled in outrage, yanking himself away from her touch and looming over her like some death shadow. The girl at least had some sense to look intimidated this time. “Ya think I have the fuckin time tah take care of your ass, girl? I have more important things tah do than deal with some homeless mutant. Now if ya know what’s good for ya, ya’d leave this place now, while I still allow ya tah. In fact, leave the city. And next time ya come tah some poor ol’ fools home tah pester em. Ya ask fah help instead of bringin their fuckin families intah it!” 

This time, it was Arianna’s turn to look shocked. It took several minutes for her to finally react, but it was nothing as he’d expect. 

“You bastard!” She screamed. “Now you listen here for just a minute and shut your damn mouth for once while I’m talking! I am not lying and I’m not looking for your stupid help! I have a family and a home and I don’t need your selfish ass to take care of me! I’m not even here for me, I’m here for my father because he’s so stupid as to think that he’s not needed anymore! I’ve tried and I’ve tried talking to him but he just won’t listen to me, so I’ve finally decided to travel fifteen fuckin hours to the one person I thought cared about him just as much as I did. So, if you are going to prove me wrong and continue being the selfish bastard my father said you were, just say the word and I’m gone! You can live the rest of your hellish life by your fuckin self for all I care!” 

The spittle was flying from the tiny girl’s mouth and her face turned as red as a tomato as she stabbed her finger against Raph’s chest repeatedly until he had no choice but to back up. To his surprise, he found his shell pressed against the wall of his kitchen like some prey being stalked by a predator.

By the time she was done, she was panting and shaking. Her beautiful green eyes glassing over with unshed tears. She spun around quickly as she began wiping her eyes anxiously.

Raph gulped, feeling awkward and at a loss of what to do. He had made the girl cry! “Y . . . You okay?” He muttered. Reaching out to touch her but then thinking better of it.

Arianna nodded, “I’m fine. Sorry. It’s just teenage hormones sometimes get the better of me when I get mad.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Raph asked.

Arianna sniffled and giggled. “Oh, now you want to help me?”

Raph bit his lip and shrugged. “I’m sorry for what I said. I just don’t like being made a fool of.”

Arianna glanced at him over her shoulder. There were dark streaks on her cheeks but she was smiling. “Geez, who kicked you as a baby?”

“What?”

Arianna shook her head. “Why would you think I was lying to you? If I was going to prank you, I’d be much more creative than that.”

That sounded like someone he knew. “It was just easier to accept than the alternative.”

“Rather than having a daughter with your ex?”

“Well first of all, this generally doesn’t happen often to mutant gay couples.”

Arianna cocked her head. “How many mutant gay couples have you met?”

Raph snorted. “Not much. There was only four of us. Hence the reason we’re gay. There weren’t many options out there. Well . . . until now.”

Arianna’s eyes widen. “Woah, hey. I don’t swing that way.”

“What?”

“I like younger guys. Sorry.”

Raph’s eyes widen as well. “What? No! That’s not what I meant! I just meant that with you, we could probably expand on the mutant turtle population. Wait, no . . . that didn’t come out right either.”

Arianna laughed. “I’m just busting your chops. Don’t worry, I know what you meant. Doesn’t mean I would do it even if it were possible and it has to be with the right person. You think I want to mess up this gorgeous body with babies? No thank you.”

Raph chuckled awkwardly. They really needed a change of subject. “So, tell me. How is this even possible? I mean, unless Leo has some weird things going on with his genetics that I never knew about, I’m pretty sure none of us are capable of becoming pregnant.”

Arianna guffawed. This lasted for several minutes before she finally calmed down long enough to answer him. She was wiping the tears from her eyes as she said, “Have you even considered the possibility that I wasn’t conceived?”

Raph blinked, “Well um, you have to admit you do look a hell of a lot like Leo.”

Arianna snorted. “True, but that doesn’t prove anything. Maybe I was, I don’t know, created?”

Raph’s confusion only strengthened after that announcement and Arianna must have seen it on his face because she sighed and said, “It’s a long story so pay attention and I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. There was this rumor going around about some crazy scientist holing up in a warehouse in Japan. The police were wanting to investigate it on suspicions that the guy was growing drugs, so dad decided to go check it out. He said the outside looked decrepit and incapable of sheltering anybody, but when he got inside, it was a full-blown, high-tech laboratory.”

“He had explored a little but never found out what the guy was doing because the guy had attacked him while he was there. He never found out who the person was either, but he said he recognized him as somebody he had fought a couple of years back. Dad said, he had been attacked and drugged and when he awoke, the guy was gone and he never heard from him again. Anyway, dad said that the fighting didn’t last for more than a few minutes before the guy had drugged him again. When he woke up, he said that the place was empty. The laboratory had been stripped clean of any evidence as to what he had been doing.”

“A few days have passed after the incident. Dad kept watch over the laboratory but he never returned. Dad told me that one day, when he was about to head out, he found me in a box on his doorstep with a note telling him that I was his responsibility now and no other was allowed. Dad had tried to hunt down the man for questioning but he could never find him. It seemed like he just disappeared off the face of the earth. So, dad decided to raise me after that.”

A few moments of silence fell between the two as Raph processed this given information. “But,” He began. “why would you say I was your father? I can understand Leo. The guy was clearly experimenting with his DNA, but me?”

Arianna shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s just what dad told me. He said he’s certain that the guy must have gotten ahold of your DNA too, because he’s seen your personality traits in me from day one.”

“But what if it’s just a coincidence? You just happen to get a hot temperament which I have too. That doesn’t mean you’re my daughter.” Raph argued.

“Well, we share the same eyes.” 

“That doesn’t mean anything!”

“I don’t know. That’s just what dad told me.”

“But why would . . .?” Raph paused as a thought came to him. A memory several years back of an unknown person attacking him one night on his way home. The guy had drugged him and stolen his blood just as he did to Leo. Raph had searched for the man for years in fear of another apocalypse starting but had come up empty handed as well. Could this really have been what his blood was used for? To make a mutant turtle child of his and Leo’s DNA? But why? What was the purpose of that?

“What is it?” Arianna asked, breaking Raph out of his internal musings. 

“I just don’t get why this person would want to create you in the first place.” Raph said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “It makes no sense.”

Arianna sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, it doesn’t really matter to me why or how I was born. I mean, no one got hurt so it shouldn’t really matter.”

“Well it matters to me.” Raph countered. “It’s not everyday some mutant girl comes up to me and announces that I’m their daddy.”

“Okay, I know this is big news and all, Raph. But the thing is, I didn’t come here just to chat with you. I mean, yes, I’ve been curious to meet you for years but this isn’t my prime objective at the moment.” Arianna explained. “I’m here because my father needs you.”

That got Raph’s attention. “Leo? Is he okay?” He didn’t bother trying to cover the amount of worry in his voice.

“He’s . . . fine. He’s just . . . I don’t know how to explain this. He’s depressed. Lonely.”

Raph’s brows knitted in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, like I’ve mentioned before, dad no longer feels like he is needed. I’ve just recently started talking to him about the possibility of moving out and I think, to him, I’m basically telling him that I’m now too independent for his teachings anymore. He no longer feels useful.”

“Sounds like he needs a therapist rather than an ex.”

Arianna huffed. “Dad’s slowly deteriorating. He uses up all his time in training till he’s injuring himself . . .”

“Well Leo always liked to do that even as a teen.” Raph commented dryly.

“More than usual, I mean. And when he isn’t doing that, he holes himself up in his room for hours on end. He loses interest in things fast. He doesn’t speak to me often and he speaks even less to everyone else. He’s eating less. He’s sleeping less. He’s making himself sick! I’ve tried to talk to him but I don’t think anything I’m saying to him is reaching him anymore.” The concern for her father on Arianna’s face was heart wrenching and Raph found himself stepping closer to the girl and squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. He could tell that these past events she had mentioned was really wearing on her and he couldn’t blame her. Concern for his ex-lover sent a sudden urge of wanting to go see him. 

“You don’t think he’s suicidal, do you?”

“God, I hope not.” The fact that Arianna didn’t even say no was enough reason to be worried.

“So, what do you want me to do about this?” Raph asked, despite already suspecting the answer. Arianna met his eyes and he noticed hers were shiny again, but no tears fell even though he could tell she really wanted them to. If she really did have his personality, then Raph would know that she had never allowed herself to cry because it showed weakness or uselessness. That’s always how he had felt even as Don argued it was just a way for your body to release stress.

“I want you to come to Japan with me.”

Yep. Raph reckoned as much. He sighed, preparing himself for the inevitable. Raph opened his mouth to reject her offer when she immediately interrupted him.

“Please Raph. Dad needs you. Leo needs you.”

Raph scoffed, “He doesn’t need me. He never needed me. Told me himself. He only kept me around because he wanted my . . .” Raph stopped himself there to clear his throat. Reminding himself there were children in the room.

“You actually think he meant that?” 

“Did he tell you about our fight?”

Arianna shrugged. “I asked a few times but he always glossed over it. You guys said some nasty things to each other, said you hated each other and what not, then he left. That’s all I really know.”

Raph nodded, “Good.”

“Raph the only reason I’m here is because I don’t know what else to do anymore. I’m running low on options and I’m panicking. Please, I will beg on this floor if I have to.” Yeah, Raph was familiar with that. 

“I just don’t see how bringing back Leo’s past is going to help him much. We can’t stand being in the same room together anymore without it erupting into a big fight. I just want to leave things to rest now and move on instead of trying to make it worse. I’m sure Leo feels the same.”

Arianna’s eyes closed and she sighed. “Yeah, I’m sure he does.”

Raph frowned, feeling a bitterness sour his gut but he ignored it. “I’m sorry. I really am. I wish I could help but I’m not the guy to do it.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too.” Arianna said, but something in her voice sounded funny, like she didn’t actually mean that. And when she looked up again, her face held this impassiveness that looked scarily like Leo’s. He should have suspected there was something brewing in that head of hers, especially if she had his stubbornness and Leo’s determination in her.

However, Raph had only seemed to realize this after the fact, when Arianna moved closer to him, withdrew an object from her hoodie’s pocket, and stuck said object into the side of his neck.

“This would have made things a hell of a lot easier.”

“What the fuck?” Raph muttered as a sudden dizziness overcame him. He leaned against the island trying to gain his bearings but the dizziness only increased. A familiar warmth and numbness swept through his body and his thoughts became sluggish.

“I really hope this doesn’t put a damper on our relationship. I really would like to get to know you better, Raph.” Arianna smiled apologetically, then her face started to blurr and blackness stretched from the corners of his eyes.

“Y-You fucking brat.” Raph spat angrily as one last blow before his legs gave way and he tumbled to the floor, unconscious. 

 

Raphael awoke slowly and painfully, his eyes blinking rapidly against the blinding light that surrounded him. Actually, it was very dim wherever he was, he realized after his eyes adjusted. He stared confusingly at the metal ceiling above him, then slowly coaxed his eyes to the side to find stacks of cardboard boxes and suitcases on top of each other and strapped down with yellow cargo nets. He couldn’t tell how big the room was from his angle, which was lying down on his back on the floor but he guessed he was in some sort of vehicle judging by the movement of the room, making him motion sick. Adding onto the achiness of his body and a headache that kept him from thinking clearly. 

Raph couldn’t remember how he got here, but his first conclusion was that he was kidnapped. Raph tried to sit up to take in his surroundings at a better angle but was unsurprised to find he was tied up by the hands and feet. He was more surprised by the fact that he was tied with zip ties. One of the weakest ways to incapacitate a person. Hell, even an old lady could get out of zip ties!

Raph was about to try a second time to get to his feet when a feminine voice that he swore came out of nowhere say, “Oh, you’re awake!”

Raph startled and rolled back onto his shell, his eyes snapping over to where a familiar female turtle sat, smiling at him. Was it just him, or did she look an awful lot like Leo? Who was she? Was she the one that kidnapped him? 

“Sorry about the whole drugging you thing but you have to understand that I had to do this. You gave me no choice.”

Well, that answered one question. “Did Shredder put you up to this?” Perhaps she was brainwashed. It was possible. Shredder has already brainwashed hundreds of people to do his bidding. Or perhaps she was created by him.

Something seemed to click inside Raph’s mind right then. A memory. They had been talking in his apartment and she had explained to him that she had been created by an unknown scientist. Maybe the scientist worked for Shredder?

The girl blinked, “What?”

Raph’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t play dumb with me, girly. Do you work for the Shredder?”

“You don’t remember?” She looked shocked. She was a good little actress. And, like the sorry sucker he was, he took the bait.

“Remember what?”

The turtle glanced down at something in her hand he couldn’t see. “Holy shit, what do they put in those drugs?”

“Answer me!” Raph demanded, earning a glare from the girl.

“Don’t make me stick this back in you.” She waved the object at him and he quickly identified it as a tranquilizer dart. He returned her his own glare.

“Are ya threatenin me?”

“Hell yes I am.” She said, not looking in the least bit intimidated. “Now settle down, we have a long trip.”

Raph stared at her. “Where are we going?”

“Japan.”

Raph’s eyes widened as more memories slowly came back to him. This girl didn’t work for Shredder at all.

'Holy shit! I have a daughter!' Raph laid his head down on the ground as he thought back to their conversation. 'Leo and I have a daughter!'

“Fuck me!” Raph moaned to himself.

Arianna sneered. “No thanks. I’m good.”

Raph rolled his head to the side to look at her again. She had laid down on the ground as well with her head resting on a duffle bag and her feet propped on another. Her fingers were twirling with the tranq dart that he quickly realized she had used on him when he had rejected her demand to go to Japan with her.

He growled angrily, “Ya drugged me!”

“No shit Sherlock.” She snorted. Her eyes never opening. 

“Why did you tie me up?”

This time, she peeked at him through one eye and grinned smugly. “I’m not stupid, you know. I figured you would probably be hostile when you wake up.”

“So, you kidnapped me.” 

The other eye opened and she shrugged awkwardly. “I wouldn’t call it kidnapping so much as . . . transporting your body from one location to another without your consent.”

“ . . . That’s kidnapping.”

“Whatever. Anyway, you left me with no choice.”

“No choice?” Raph balked. “You could have hauled your ass on a plane to Japan without me just fine.”

Arianna quickly sat up, looking angry. “Hey, I’m just about willing to do anything for my family, including committing several federal offenses. So, shut the hell up because that’s more than you ever did.” She flopped back down on the duffle, fuming.

'Ouch.' Raph was dumbstruck to say the least but he had no argument against her. What had he done for his family lately? He had lost Donnie. He had killed Casey. He had gotten Mikey’s arm amputated. And he drove off Leo. He was pretending to be a hero by risking his life everyday to kill bad guys but in reality, he wasn’t even scratching the surface on Shredder’s army. He was just killing time until the day life was tired of him.

Arianna sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes with the palms over her hands, bringing him out of his depressing thoughts. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I’ve just been so tired lately, I haven’t slept in a couple of days and I’ve been so worried about dad. I guess the stress is getting to me.” 

Raph shrugged. “Well, you only spoke the truth. I haven’t been much use to my family.”

Arianna frowned but didn’t reply. A couple of minutes went by in total silence besides the planes engine running when Raph finally said, “As soon as this plane lands. I’m going home.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Raph grunted and turned his attention back to getting himself on his feet. If he could do that, he could get unbound. Raph immediately started rocking on his shell, trying to build up his momentum. At one point he heard Arianna ask him what he was doing but he was too busy concentrating to answer her. Finally, he got to the speed he wanted and in one fluid motion, he rocked forward onto his heels and stood up. He didn’t check for Arianna’s reaction. He raised up his tied hands, elbows apart and slammed his wrists on his thigh. The zip tie snapped away as if they were dental floss. Raph bent down to release the ties on his ankles when the girl jumped on his shell with a cry. 

She tried to stab him with her tranq dart but he had expected the move and he rolled forward. Arianna went tumbling and crashing into the stack of luggage. 

Raph got free of his bonds and ran over to the duffle bags where he was sure her weapons were. He dug through her belongings, tossing things useless out and eventually found what appeared to be a tranq gun. Why the hell was she using the dart itself and not the gun? Range weapons usually had the better advantage. 

'Stupid girl.' Raph thought as he stood up. He checked the chamber for a dart and found one already ready. He turned to where Arianna laid but she was gone. 

He spun around in a circle, gun raised in front of him as he searched for a sign of where she had went. He discovered she was hiding behind another stack of suitcases to his left after he felt something sharp pierce through his thigh. At first, he thought it was the dart but he realized it was much too thick and heavy. He twisted his body around and yanked out a dagger. 

Raph stared wide eyed as his blood dripped from the blade. “Fuckin bitch!”

Drugs must have still been lingering in his system because a sudden wave of nausea and dizziness hit Raph and he dropped the dagger. He sluggishly turned around to shoot at Arianna but was surprised when he saw her charging at him like a wild bull. She leaped into the air a few feet away from him and a second later her heel cracked against his jaw. 

Stunned, Raph dropped to the floor like a sandbag, the gun flying out of his grip. It took him quite a while to recover enough to get up but when he did, he was looking inside the barrel of a tranq gun. 

Behind the muzzle, Arianna was panting and looking very angry. Raph opened his mouth to try to soothe the girl, but she cut him off. “Escape this, bitch.”

A pop and a hiss later and Raph was on the floor again, numb and paralyzed. “Damn . . . ya.” He forced out between tingling lips as he watched the girl with blurry vision walk over to her half empty duffle and take out several more zip ties. By the time she came back though, he was already out cold yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're getting more into the thick of it. Arianna seems to have the same familiar sarcastic sense of humor and short temperament as her second father. So, this should be fun seeing Raph getting a taste of his own medicine. Arianna is not going to take 'no' for an answer. Sorry Raph, but we're going to Japan!!
> 
> Also, I think Raph had underestimated Arianna. She was, after all, raised by Fearless himself! Nice try, Raph.
> 
> Opinions on Arianna's personality development and comments on the current events is very much appreciated! 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any TMNT characters. Just Arianna Hamato.


	4. Greetings from Tokyo

Raphael awoke for the second time that day. Or was it even the same day? He couldn’t tell how much time passed between when he’d been drugged. He was sure that his internal time clock was now screwed up.

'At least it’s day time.' Raph thought as he slowly opened his eyes to see a bright blue sky in front of him. So, he was no longer in the airplanes cargo bay but rather in the passenger seat on the left side of a car. Raph took in the ecru colored dash in front of him and the leather seat he was belted in. He turned his attention out the side window to where large glass skyscrapers towered over them and people bustled back and forth through the sidewalks. Raph might have thought he was still in New York had he not noticed the Japanese writing on all the street signs. He tried to identify where exactly in Japan they were but unfortunately his Japanese was a little rusty and before he could decipher the first word, the sign was long gone.

“How are you feeling?” It didn’t take Raph nearly as long for him to gain back his memories this time.

“Like crap.” Raph answered, annoyed. He couldn’t believe he had gotten beaten by a teenage girl.

“Where are we?” Raph asked after a moment of silence.

“Japan.” Arianna said.

“Thanks for clearing that up, captain obvious.” Raph grumbled.

Arianna snorted. “Well, the last time you woke up you couldn’t even remember who I was, so sorry. Glad to know I didn’t give you permanent brain damage.”

“Me too.” He said dryly.

“Anyway, to be specific, we’re in Minato Tokyo. Heading towards the bay.” She clarified.

“The bay?” Raph asked, then remembered that Leo was living on an island. They would need to take a boat to get to it. “And how far does it take to get to the island?”

“Well, if we take Dad’s boat it’s about a thirty minute ride. If we take Aunt Karai’s boat though, it’ll be about twenty minutes.”

Raph’s eyes widened and he stared at the girl beside him. “Karai? She’s there?”

“You didn’t know? Aunt Karai had said that she had been Shredder’s prisoner for a few years when Dad had broken her out. More than half of the foot soldiers had escaped with them and they ended up agreeing to retrain the soldiers and start recruiting. That was why they moved all the way to Japan because they knew that Shredder would eventually find out about their plan. So, taken out of Aunt Karai’s account, they had bought the island and built a base there.” Arianna explained and reached down in between the seats for something he couldn’t see. When her hand lifted back up, he spotted something dark brown, round, and decorated with white swirls. She popped what he could only assume was some type of chocolate candy into her mouth, sucked the remnants off her fingers and returned it to the wheel.

Raph didn’t know how to take this news. For twenty-three years, Karai had been with Leo on a private little island creating an army and raising a mutant child together. It was no secret anymore that Leo and Karai had, at one point, been together for a couple years in between the few times that Raph and Leo’s relationship had taken a break. It was only until Raph had come crawling back to beg for forgiveness when Leo had finally ended that affair.

However, now that Raph was out of the picture forever, where did that leave Leo and Karai?

It took Raph a moment to connect his sudden case of nausea to his jealousy. Okay, so, even after all these years he still hadn’t gotten completely over Leo. Which meant that he was probably never going to totally move on and he was going to live the rest of his life in regret, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be happy for Leo, right? His ex now had a family and was probably happy. So why shouldn’t Raph be happy for him?

The nausea only increased. Raph was hating this. For seventeen years, Leo was raising a daughter by himself that had shared a portion of Raph’s DNA and he was never told about this. Did Leo really hate him so much to keep Raph out of the loop like that?

It was around then that Raph came to the conclusion that he could not see Leo. He didn’t know what he would do if he did but he knew that whatever it is, it would be bad for the both of them.

“As soon as this car stops, I’m going home.” Raph announced.

Arianna snorted. “Sure you are.”

“I’m serious. I’m getting out of here and taking the next plane back to America.” Raph growled.

“Yeah, good luck with that. The next plane leaving the country will be in about a week.”

Raph paused, “What’s that’s supposed to mean?”

Arianna glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “It means that there’s a storm coming in a couple of days and they’re shutting down all airports until it passes completely.”

Raph’s brows furrowed. “In a couple of days? They should still have some flights going on until then.”

“Oh, they do! But you’re not getting onto any of them.” Arianna said as she popped another chocolate ball that might be a truffle into her mouth. Then, after wiping off her sticky fingers against her pants leg, she reached down for something at her feet while keeping her sights on the road. She straightened, withdrawing that damn tranquilizer gun from the duffel bag and pointing it at him. Raph’s hands had been tied behind his back this time and he was helpless to do anything about her pressing the muzzle against his thigh. “Sorry Raph but whether you like it or not, I’m taking you to see Dad.”

Raph glared first at the gun, then at the girl behind the gun. “Look Arianna, Leo and I haven’t seen each other in over two decades, okay? We aren’t apart of each other’s life and we don’t want to be again. We aren’t fit for each other. We never were. It just took us too damn long to see it. You need to understand that.”

“I don’t think either of you realize this Raph, but you two are still a part of each other’s lives even with the lack of communication.” Arianna said. Raph opened his mouth to protest some more until Arianna moved her finger to the trigger. He closed his mouth. “I’m willing to offer you a deal Raph. If you’re ready to listen for once.”

Raph grumbled, staring at the gun with hatred in his eyes but he nodded in agreement.

“Good. I figured your body had enough drugging for one day and you probably still have a little bit left in your system right now. So, this is how it’s going to go, if you agree to not run anymore, you will be allowed to walk on your own for the rest of the way there. But, if you refuse me and/or try to escape, I will tranq you and you will not like where you’ll wake up next time.”

Raph raised a brow. “That’s your idea of a compromise?”

“Not compromise. A deal. And it’s the best deal you’re going to get. So, do you agree or do I pull this trigger now and you get to find out where your body will be stashed next?” Arianna asked with a calm, cool tone.

The more Raph hung out with Arianna; the more he was starting to see Leo’s point about her having his personality. The girl was stubborn as hell and she knew how to make a good threat. He would’ve appreciated it more though had he been on the opposite end of the threat.

“Fuck.” Raph snarled and banged his head against the head rest in frustration before he finally sighed in defeat. “Fine, whatever. I won’t run. Now get that damn gun away from me.”

Arianna eyed him, probably trying to decide if she could trust his word before finally lowering the weapon. But, she didn’t return it to the duffle as he had expected. Instead, she set the weapon on her lap, hand still coiled around the handle and finger resting on the trigger. She obviously decided she still didn’t trust him.

“Oh, yeah! I got you something! I figured you would be hungry when you woke up and I had no idea when your last meal was, so, I just ran through a drive thru real quick.” Arianna removed her hand from the gun long enough to bend down again and retrieve a brown paper bag. She tossed it onto his lap before returning her hand to the weapon.

Raph stared at it, his mouth watering at the scent of something warm and tasty wafting from it. He hadn’t realized just how neglectful he had been until now when his stomach was cramping up and rumbling with need. How long has it been since his last meal? He hadn’t gotten to eat anything when he had returned home after Arianna had arrived, which meant he’d last eaten in the evening. Raph did quick calculations in his head and estimated it had been around twenty-five hours since his last meal, give or take a few hours. He wasn’t Donnie afterall.

Damn it, he was starving!

Raph tried to reach for the bag but then remembered his hands were tied behind his back. He looked over at Arianna who teasingly ate another truffle. It took her a few minutes before she realized he was looking at her.

“What?”

Raph quirked a brow. “Do you expect me to eat like a dog or something?”

She looked confused for a second but then quickly connected the dots. “Oh, right! I forgot you were tied up.” She laughed and shook her head at her forgetfulness. Bending down, she grabbed out the dagger from her bag and placed it in one of his hands.

Raph gaped at her. “Are you seriously handing me a weapon?”

Arianna shrugged. “What else are you planning on doing with it?”

Raph looked down when he felt something press against his leg and he realized that she was going to hold him at gun point for the entire time. He could probably disarm her easily but he didn’t want to test his luck. Her trigger finger looked awfully happy.

Raph twirled the dagger around in his hand till it was at the right angle and began sawing through the zip ties.

Once his hands were free, he bent down to undo his ankles when Arianna nudged him with the gun. “Not those. You don’t need your feet to eat.”

“Didn’t you just say if I agreed to your deal I could walk on my own.”

“We’re not walking right now, are we? You can undo them when we get out of the car.”

Raph didn’t know what she was expecting him to do that required his feet but he chose not to argue. He was about to hand the dagger back to her when he recognized it as the one Splinter had been given by Hamato Yuta, to which Splinter had passed it down to Leo, and now it looked like it had been passed down another generation. The handle was decorated with Japanese symbols that was carved out of bamboo wood, then polished till smooth and stained with a rich amber brown. The blade was long and recently sharpened and stained with a hint of red from the generations of enemies it had smitted.

It had also been the same dagger Leo had used to kill Shredder but, of course, the bastard refused to die.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Arianna said with a soft smile.

Raph nodded. He studied the blade for a couple more minutes, memories washing over Raph, before he finally offered it back to Arianna. She took it from him and slipped it back in her bag.

“Dad gave that to me on my sixteenth birthday.” She said.

“Leo was given that when he turned sixteen too, and I believe our dad was as well.”

Arianna nodded. Yeah, she probably knew that already. “Dad’s been asking me what weapon I want to work with. So far, the dagger has been the only thing I’ve learned.”

Raph smirked. “Have you ever considered the sais?”

Arianna smiled. “Oh yes, I’ve considered all of the weapons. I just, I don’t know, I can’t decide. Dad says that it’s always good to know how to wield all of the weapons but if I want to master any of them, I need to pick one to dedicate myself to. I don’t know why it’s so tough.”

“Well, what weapons have you worked with?”

“I’ve tried the bo staff.”

“And?”

“I don’t know. It’s too flashy for my taste. Too many twirls.” Arianna sneered.

Raph chuckled. “What else?”

“I’ve tried the swords, they’re okay. They’re a lot like the knife except heavier.”

“What about the Nunchaku?”

Arianna snorted. “I can’t control those things. You can’t imagine the number of bruises I had after one lesson. Not to mention how many people I’ve hit with them. Not on purpose by the way.”

“Yeah, I think I can actually.” Raph said, smiling.

“Oh?”

“Splinter made us switch weapons at one point. We had become too dependent on our own weapons that when we switched, we couldn’t fight for anything.”

Arianna laughed. “Yeah, I don’t have that problem yet. I like them all. They have their pro’s and con’s but I don’t feel attached to any of them enough to dedicate all my time to them.

Raph shrugged. “Well, you’re lucky Leo is even letting you choose. Splinter had picked our weapons for us when we were six. We kept trading them because we were never happy with the ones we were given but Splinter wouldn’t allow us to train with any others.”

“Six, huh?” Arianna smirked. “I believe my chosen weapon at that age was spitballs.”

Raph laughed. “Honestly, that was probably ours too.”

Arianna giggled and shook her head. A comfortable silence fell over the car that hadn’t been there before.  
Eventually she said, “You better eat that before it gets cold.”

Raph nodded and dug through the bag of food, pulling out a cheeseburger wrapped in foil and french fries that did end up getting cold but he ate them anyway. Having only three types of food for three meals a day every day had the greasy, fatty flavor of something new explode on his tongue. Raph had narrowed his variety of food for the fact that it took up too much time and was always a hassle to him. He never thought too much about his diet until now, having gotten used to it after a while. Now, he was beginning to crave things he hadn’t thought about in years.

Disappointment filled Raph when he finally ate the last bite of his sandwich and the fry container was empty. He was still a little hungry but he was willing to wait now that the stomach cramps have gone away. Sighing, Raph crumbled the foil into a ball and tossed it into the bag and set down the bag at his feet.

“So, how much farther?” Raph asked, taking a swig from the water bottle Arianna had bought for him.

“Maybe another ten, fifteen minutes. Just relax and take in the sights.” She said, turning on the radio and flipping through the channels before she finally left it on a Billy Joel song. Raph was ashamed to say that he knew all the words to it. 'Damn it, Mikey.'

The next fifteen minutes went by with one Billy Joel song after another and Arianna’s ear-bleeding singing before they finally arrived at the docks.

Arianna pulled into one of the parking spots in the gravel lot and shut off the car. “We’re here!” She announced loudly, stirring Raph from his dozing. Raph yawned and sat up from where he was slumped against the window. He was about to get out when Arianna tossed something soft at him.

“Get dressed.” She ordered as she scrambled through her duffle at her feet and pulled out a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a bottle of something tan.

Raph unraveled the pile on his lap and found an oversized blue hoodie that said ‘Free Hugs’ in white lettering and grey sweat pants. “And, what do I need this for?”

“The boat dealer is human and does not know that his costumers are mutants. So, if we want to be able to travel back and forth from the island, we should try not to scare him off. Now, hurry and dress.” Arianna explained as she squirted a decent blob of cream colored liquid in her palm. She rubbed it between her hands and began spreading what he could only assume was foundation all over her face, neck, and hands. Once done, she put on the sunglasses and hat and Raph had to admit she looked almost human if it weren’t for the hunch back she had going on underneath her hoodie, her missing two fingers, and lack of a nose.

Arianna turned to Raph and huffed when she saw he still wasn’t dressed. “Don’t you have ears? I told you to get dressed.”

Immediately, she grabbed for the hoodie and tried to shove it over his head. Raph protested and snatched the hoodie out of her grip. “Hey, I can dress myself, thank you very much.”

Arianna smirked. “Really? I couldn’t tell.”

Raph made a face at her and slipped on the hoodie. He was about to put on the sweat pants when he realized his feet were still tied. “Am I allowed to walk yet?”

Arianna stared confusingly at him until Raph pointed at his zip tied ankles. “Oh. Oh yes. You may.” She giggled and retrieved her dagger for him. He quickly cut himself loose, returned the knife to her and pulled on the pants. The clothing was a little bit baggy on him but he would have to make do for the time being. He couldn’t expect Arianna to know his size.

Once dressed, Arianna ordered him to look at her. She squirted more of that foundation in her hands and began smearing it on his face and any other exposed skin. “There. That’ll have to do for now.”

Arianna smiled and tugged his hood over his head before she stepped out of the car. Raph followed suit, unsure as to why he wasn’t running now that she no longer had a gun pointed at him. The thought fled from Raph’s mind when he stood up and his pants began to slide down his hips.

Growling, Raph grabbed the brim of his sweats and hoisted them back up to his waist. Untying his belt from beneath his hoodie, he used the thin piece of leather to tie the pants to him. Bending down he rolled up the pants legs that were dragging below his feet.

Once he trusted walking again, Raph made his way around the charcoal colored Chrysler Sedan 200 to where Arianna was grabbing out a duffle from the back seat. He grabbed that from her and slung it over his shoulder, allowing her to keep the one that she had in the front seat with her.

“This your car?” Raph asked, genuinely curious.

The brothers never had a regular vehicle of their own besides the Battle Shell, to which they had to take turns using or they all went together. That was, until Donnie had fixed up a motorcycle back when he had first met Casey. That sweet thing had been Raph’s dedicated vehicle. Raph frowned as he thought of his precious baby sitting alone and collecting dust in the storage garage he had temporarily rented until he could find a larger home to put it, and other things, in. He hadn’t taken the Shell Cycle out for a joy ride in years because of the memories she produced. Raph’s heart sank as he recalled forgetting multiple times to pay for his rent. His baby was now probably lying at the dump now, abandoned and alone.

“No, it’s Aunt Karai’s.” Arianna said, pulling Raph out of his thoughts once again. Great, now he made himself sad.

It took Raph a moment to collect himself. “You seem to use a lot of Karai’s things here.”

Arianna shrugged. “Dad usually doesn’t like me going to the mainland on my own. So, if I want to go, I have to ask Aunt Karai because she’s the only one willing to lend me her keys.”

“Leo doesn’t allow you to go to the mainland?” Raph asked, surprised.

Arianna nodded and pouted. “Dad’s too paranoid about me getting caught to want me going alone.”

“Well that’s rich coming from him. He was with us when we were begging Splinter to allow us to go topside and we were fifteen at the time.” Raph snorted.

Arianna chuckled. “Yes, but I don’t have siblings to watch my back. That’s what scares him.”

Raph scoffed. “Nonsense. I went by myself sometimes.”

“Without permission if I recall right.” Arianna pointed out.

“Touche.” Raph had no argument there. Most of the time when he was alone topside it was usually because he snuck out. It bothered him a little how much Arianna seems to know about him and yet, he knows next to nothing about her.

Arianna smirked, locking the car and stuffing the keys into her hoodie pocket before walking over to where a dock house sat on a shore of sparkling pebbles. Tied to the docks were boats of various sizes. Raph spotted a few big sail and speed boats among a large amount of fishing boats and jet skis. Paddles, life vests, and canoes were hung on the side of the dock house along with a big banner that read, ‘Tokyo Boat Rental’ and ‘Live Bait’ below it.  
Raph couldn’t deny that the area was beautiful and far better off than New York now, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still pissed off at Leo for deserting his family. Sure, he was creating an army to fight off the Shredder so he wasn’t just relaxing on a beach like he first assumed, but the fact was, he didn’t even invite them along. Raph understood Leo was mad at him, but how could he just leave Mikey and April like that? They didn’t deserve to suffer in the city.

“Ah, Arianna! You have returned!”

Raph’s attention veered off when a little old Japanese man shuffled out of the boat house and toward Arianna, arms outstretched wide. He was dressed in a traditional fishermen’s outfit with a vest decorated with fishing hooks overtop of a blue t-shirt and tan carpenter pants.

Arianna grinned at him and rushed into his embrace. The two hugged tightly for a few seconds before finally separating. “Tod, it’s so good to see you again.”

“As is you Arianna. I’m so glad to know you have returned safely. Did you have a good trip to America?” Tod asked with a thick Japanese accent that made it hard for Raph to decipher his words.

Arianna apparently had no trouble because she answered immediately, “Yes, I did. It was lovely.”

Tod’s eyes briefly moved over to Raph, then back to Arianna with a look of confusion. “Who is that guy?”

Arianna released Tod to go clamp her hands on Raph’s arm and drag him closer. “Tod, this is my long-lost Uncle I was telling you about. The one that was living in America.”

Despite the look Tod was giving him, Raph smiled anyway. Compressing the urge to correct Arianna. She probably had a good reason for not telling Tod that she had two dads’ and not three uncles.

From this distance, Raph could see that the man had streaks of grey and white in his black hair and wrinkles in the corners of his black eyes that considered him with distaste.

“So, this is the great warrior of America you talk so highly about?” Tod pointed a cryptic finger at him. “I expected more.”

Raph glared at the little man who wasn’t paying him the least bit of attention anymore. “I assure you Tod, he has the heart of a warrior.” Arianna smiled as she patted the left side of his chest.

Tod sniffed and scuffled back to the dock house. “America is doomed then.”

Raph growled and tried to go after him but Arianna held him back. “Down boy.” She hissed under her breath. “Remember what will happen if you cause me trouble.”

Raph’s growling ceased when he felt something nudge him against his unprotected side. He switched his glare on her. “You still have that fucking gun on me?”

Arianna glared back. “Of course I have that fucking gun on you. I’m not stupid. Now behave. My back is hurting so I don’t want to drag your ass around anymore.”

Raph huffed, yanking his arm out of her grip, he stepped away and over to the edge of the docks.

“Now where are you going?”

He rolled his eyes. “Relax, I’m not going anywhere.”

Raph was relieved when Arianna didn’t threaten him to move or anything. He stared out into the azure waters that stretched for miles to meet sky and listened as Tod emerged from the dock house again, keys rattling in his hand.

“Thank you, Tod. You have a good day.” Arianna said cheerfully.

“You as well, Arianna. And if the punk lays a finger on you, you can always come here and I will take care of him, eh?”

Arianna laughed. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary, but I’ll keep that in mind anyway.”

Raph glared at Tod over his shoulder. “I heard that.”

“You were meant to.” Tod smirked and disappeared inside the dock house again.

Arianna patted his head mockingly. “Lower the hackles. I don’t want to be cleaning guts from the dock because your pride hurts. Now, come on. Aunt Karai’s boat is this way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raph's getting closer and closer to Leo in every chapter! *Cackles quietly* And looks like he has some competition, another ex living with Raph's ex. You better protect your man, Raphie-boy. But I can ease everyone's mind that it isn't too serious, afterall, Arianna only calls her Aunt Karai and not Mama Karai.
> 
> Also, Tod isn't going to be that big of a character in here. But Arianna thinks very highly of him, like family and, if given the choice, she would probably choose Tod over Raph. At least, at this point in their relationship. But anyway, Tod will probably pop up here every now and then to glare at Raph like the protective "grandfather" he is. lol
> 
> I apologize as well if, at any time during this story while they are in Japan, something isn't completely accurate to the culture. I've never been to Japan and don't know anybody from there. But, I try to put in some effort to research as much as I can. So, if anybody notices something, please inform me!
> 
> And if anyone wants to give their theories on how they think Raph and Leo's first meeting will probably go, leave a comment down below! :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any TMNT characters. Just Arianna and Tod.
> 
> Next chapter release date: May 23rd


	5. Mi Casa es su Casa

Raphael climbed into the back of the sleek white bowrider, the boat swaying against his weight and the slapping of the waves. Raph waited a moment to regain his balance before dropping the duffle bag he carried onto the tan leather bench, then sitting down beside it.

Arianna followed afterwards and tossed him one of the two orange life jackets she carried. Raph didn’t even bother trying to catch it as it landed at his feet. A brow quirked as he looked from the vest up to the girl.

“You’re kidding right?”

Arianna smirked as she slipped on her own. “It’s protocol, sorry. I’m not technically supposed to be driving the boat without Aunt Karai but Tod has made an exception so long as we wear the life jackets.”

Raph scoffed, resisting the urge to flip off the man that was staring at them through the dock houses windows. “We’re turtles. We don’t need life jackets.”

“Yes, but Tod doesn’t know that. So, for both of our sakes can you please just put up with the life jacket for the two minutes it takes us to get out of sight?”

“Or,” Raph smiled. “I could refuse and Tod takes away your privilege and I go home.”

“Or,” Arianna glared at him. “I could drug you again and make you put on your life jacket.” To emphasize her point, she pointed the muzzle of the gun out of the opening of her duffle bag.

Raph stayed silent for several minutes as he debated with himself whether or not it was worth it. Finally, he sighed and bent down to pick up the life jacket. Between the shell, the bulky clothing, and the vest, Raph found himself feeling incredibly claustrophobic. He had no idea how this thing was supposed to save people when the thing strangled you itself! This was going to be the longest two minutes of his life.

Arianna grinned and gave him a thumbs up before she moved to the front seat. A moment later the strong engine roared to life. Arianna turned around and started moving her mouth but Raph couldn’t hear any of the words overtop the purring of the boat. Raph was about to ask her to talk louder when the boat suddenly jolted forward and Raph was pinned back against the cushions.

Blistering cold air slammed mercilessly against Raph’s face, the wind howling in his ears, and mist splashing against the back of his head. He was restrained like that for what felt like an eternity before the boat finally slowed to a stop and Raph could breathe again.

Raph slowly sat up, his head felt light as he took in his surroundings. The dock was nowhere to be seen anymore and the beach was nothing but a streak of tan on the horizon. Raph could see the cities skyscrapers spiking up from the tan and dozens of people dotting the shore. Besides that though, they were completely engulfed in miles of blue. Not even a cloud in the sky to break it up.

Raph’s heart constricted a little at the sight. Blue was a beautiful color. So clean and refreshing. . . and the favorite color of the love of his life. Blue was a fitting color for Leo. He even smelled like the ocean. Sweet and salty.

Raph sighed and closed his eyes. He should have known he wouldn’t have been able to keep his thoughts away from Leo. He couldn’t before so why would he be able to now? He needed to relax and keep control of his emotions because this was just a temporary visit to see how Leo was doing. As soon as Arianna stops holding him at gun point, he was going back to New York. To the crummy, filthy city that was his home.

“I gather from your lack of response that you’re now comfortable in the vest?”

Raph blinked and looked up at Arianna who was now stripping off her life jacket. Realizing that his two minutes were up, Raph happily took of his vest as well and tossed it to the side, breathing in deeply. Arianna smirked and walked back over to the wheel. The boat accelerated again at a much more decent speed.

Raph decided they were far enough away from civilization for him to take off the hoodie. He used the hoodie to wipe away the foundation as best as he could before setting it aside. Raph slumped into the seat, crossing his arms over his chest, and relaxed as the wind blew across his body, creating goosebumps. He had never felt so free in years. Like a giant weight had been removed from his shoulders. The paranoia of someone coming to kill him no longer lingering around him. Now he truly understood why Leo would want to leave. Why anybody would want to leave. There was no reason to stay.

The next twenty minutes went by with Raph dozing and despite he wasn’t even asleep he could honestly say that was the best sleep he had in years. It didn’t last long enough though when he felt something kick his foot.

Raph grumbled tiredly and opened his eyes to see Arianna standing above him with her duffle bag hanging from one shoulder.

“Come on sleepy head. We’re here.”

Raph sighed and sat up. Once again, their surroundings have changed. It was indeed an island that they lived on. A rather small one in his opinion but functional enough he supposed. It was at least inconspicuous. Arianna had parked the boat beside a small doc that lead onto the golden sand. Palms and other trees and plants guarded the inland.

Slowly rising to his feet, Raph grabbed up the duffle bag and slung the hoodie over his other shoulder before following Arianna off the boat and down the dock.

“Where is everybody?” Raph asked.

“Farther inland. We like to stay as hidden as we can.” Arianna said as she walked off the dock and through the brush.

Raph hesitated, suddenly feeling a nervous churning in his stomach as it finally hit him. He was going to see Leo. After these twenty-three years of being separated by thousands of miles of ocean, he was finally going to get to see Leo again. He wondered what he would look like. Would he be taller? Larger? Would he have more scars? Wrinkles? Would he still be as nerdy and boyish as he was as a teen? Did he still like those same stupid sci-fi shows? What was it called? ‘Space Heroes’?

Raph wondered how Leo was going to react when he saw him. Would he be mad still? Happy? Would he tell him to get off his island? That he never wanted to see him again?

Raph started to feel a little queasy at the thought. He didn’t know how he would handle the rejection. To be told by the one that you loved that they no longer wanted you; and worse, because you were the cause of that rejection. Raph didn’t know how to handle that. It had already taken him years to get back on his feet after their last fight. Who knows how long it would take him this time.

“Are you chickening out?” Arianna’s voice brought Raph back to the present. The girl was peeking out from the wall of the biggest leaves Raph has ever seen, with concern on her face.

“I don’t need to bring out the tranq gun, do I?”

“Of course not.” Raph glared at her and continued passed her, into the foliage. He felt his feet leave the soft warmness of the sand and step into the cool dampness of the mud, grass, and moss. Shadows shrouded Raph from the sun and left him feeling sticky and sweaty as he forced his way through the thick leaves and branches that scratched his skin.

Hard at work, Raph almost didn’t hear Arianna behind him as she asked, “You scared of meeting Dad again?”

Raph scoffed indignantly, “M’not scared.”

Fear was for men of prey. And Raph had fought too many battles in his life to be scared of meeting one person. The word did not exist in his vocabulary.

. . . Oh, who was he kidding? He was downright terrified!

“It’s okay to be scared. I mean, Dad can be pretty scary sometimes. You should see him after I stayed out too late at night, now that’s scary.”

Raph turned around to pin the girl back with a glare. “I’m not scared.”

Arianna smirked. “If you insist.”

Raph growled and continued forward. “I couldn’t care less about the guy. If he wants tah go off and buy an island and raise an army, I’m sure as hell ain’t going to stop em.”

“Your accents showing.” Arianna chuckled.

“I don’t have an accent.” Raph said angrily. The words unintentionally coming out in a thick New York accent. Ignoring the fact that his brothers had repeatedly insisted that he did whenever he was feeling a strong emotion. He had hated whenever they figured out when he was lying because of the accent, so he kept on insisting he never had one, as if that would get rid of it. Now the habit just stuck.

“You do. It’s cute. I noticed it every time you got angry.” Arianna grinned.

Raph quirked an eyebrow. “Well, you got a Japanese accent.”

Arianna shrugged. “A little bit, but that’s what I get for being raised in Japan.”

Raph huffed irritably but didn’t respond. Arianna dropped the subject. They walked a little ways before Raph asked out of curiosity, “So, how did you guys managed to build an army without anyone knowing?”

“It wasn’t easy. Aunt Karai had to do most of the hard work because of Dad’s, um, peculiarities. Aunt Karai had dealt with any press and police officials that were curious about what was happening here. She had sent up a few foot soldiers to work on the inside of the police force. Then, she had gotten permission from the Japanese government to build on the island. It’s advertised as a private vacation camp so it doesn’t look suspicious when people come and go here.”

“They ended up building barracks some time later after they had recruited a number of people, deciding it was easier to keep quiet when the recruits lived here for most of the time. If they had families we usually sent them an official letter telling them they had been chosen by the government for a job. The recruits usually handled things from there on. They have visitation rights of course but normally on the weekends.” Arianna explained.

“How do you keep the tourists out then?”

“The advertisements don’t have an address.” Arianna winked at him. “We call it a mistake.”

“So, does any of the recruits know what Leo is?” Raph asked.

“A few. Only the ones that have been around for a while do. Aunt Karai is the only one that judges their loyalty. But the ones that do know, they had taken to it really well.”

“And what about the rest?”

“Dad has a foot uniform that he wears when he trains them. Everyone has their own uniform as well so no one questions it.”

Raph was about to ask another question when he got distracted by a rather large mosquito buzzing around his head. Raph growled and attempted to swat away the bug but the damn thing dodged smoothly and latched onto his arm. Instantly, he smacked it and flicked away the corpse. A moment later, he spotted two new mosquitos on his opposite arm.

“Fuck these damn bugs!” Raph snarled and repeated the same action on them. Already two welts began to form. It wouldn’t take them long to start itching. “What’s with all the mosquitos?”

Arianna chuckled amusingly as Raph began to flail his arms wildly when more attacked him. “We’re on an island in the middle of summer, Raph. What did you expect?”

Raph didn’t answer her. Too preoccupied with trying not to get eaten alive as a whole swarm began to form. It seemed as if when he killed one, two more would appear. Eventually, he became desperate and panicked and he quickly searched the area for a weapon. Spotting a good-sized stick, he picked it up and swung it through the vengeful swarm. Arianna’s laughing barely registered in his ears.

It took a while but Arianna finally took pity on the freaked-out turtle and dug through her duffle for the can of bug spray she kept on her. She was already aware of Raph’s fear of bugs and had decided to come prepared but she never expected this.

Arianna popped open the cap and stepped close to Raph, dodging the flying stick as she did so. She grabbed onto his wrist before he could strike again and sprayed the white mist at him right as he opened his mouth to yell at her. Raph began coughing.

“You weren’t supposed to open your mouth, dumbass!” Arianna huffed and dropped the can back into her bag.

“What the hell was that?” Raph wheezed.

“Your savior. You’re welcome by the way.”

Once the coughing passed Raph noticed that the swarms had left. “What is that stuff?”

“Bug spray. You’d do well to keep some on you while you’re here.” Arianna said.

Raph shrugged. “Not going to be here long enough to need it.”

Arianna snorted. “You’ve been here for an hour Raph and you’re already complaining. You’ll need it.”

The girl turned and continued on. Raph sighed and followed. That was the one good thing about New York. The city was too polluted and dry for bugs to survive anymore, what with the constant burning of buildings on a daily basis. Japan was beautiful but Raph didn’t think he could deal with the bug population.

“How much farther?” Raph asked anxiously.

“Not much. Maybe another five minutes or so.” Arianna answered.

Raph kept his complaints to himself. Was it ironic for a mutant turtle to hate the nature? While the area was gorgeous and the fresh air vitalizing, mother nature was a cruel bitch with her bipolar weather and bitey creatures. It’s as if mother nature was on her period yearly and the rest of them had to suffer for it.

As if mother nature herself wanted to smite him for his rude remarks, Raph was suddenly knocked onto the muddy ground by a heavy force. His arms forcibly pinned behind his shell, shooting pain from his wrists to his shoulders and back.

“Thought you could sneak up on her, did you? I will show you great pain for attempting to hurt my niece.” A familiar woman’s voice hissed in his ear.

Raph grunted when he felt something cold and sharp bite into his throat. He grinned cheekily at the woman. “I never took you as the kinky type Karai.”

“Raphael?” Karai said with alarm. Removing the knife from his throat.

Raph gasped for air, his fingers feeling for the wound on his throat. It was a shallow cut but she did make it bleed a lot. Slowly, Raph rolled onto his shell and smiled crookedly at the aged woman. “The one and only.”

Other than some grey in her roots and laugh lines around her mouth and eyes, Raph still recognized the woman as the one that he hated from his memories. He noticed she had grown her hair out into a shoulder length bob and her exotic makeup she used to wear was now replaced with dirt and sweat. Actually, she looked more attractive now in his opinion.

“How did you not recognize the shell?” Raph asked as he slowly got up. His body now aching.

Karai smirked. “Who says I didn’t?”

“Aunt Karai! Hey!” Arianna suddenly burst through the brush with a grin a mile wide. She rushed straight into Karai’s arms, the two women hugging tightly. Once they separated, Arianna looked to Raph, a brow quirking at his appearance. Raph tried to brush off some of the mud that clung to his skin but he gave up quickly when he only ended up smearing it.

“I see you’ve already met Raph.” Arianna said with a sheepish smile. Karai did not return it.

“So, this was the important mission you were telling me about?” She gestured angrily to Raph.

Arianna shrugged awkwardly. “I didn’t know who else to bring.”

Karai groaned and pinched the space between her eyes. “Anyone might’ve been better then him. Your father is going to be so pissed with you.”

“I’ll deal with dad later. How was he when he found out I had left?”

“He wasn’t mad. Just frustrated with you. He doesn’t know where you went or how long you’d be gone and you never called. He was worrying sick.”

Arianna rolled her eyes. “He does that anyway.”

Karai chuckled and shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Not that I don’t like overhearing you girls talk about me but, do you mind? I don’t like standing here any longer then I have to.” Raph finally interjected, feeling awkward pretending that he wasn’t there while they deliberately conversed about him. Both women’s eyes turned to him and they smiled.

“Right this way, Raphael.” Karai waved him on and they began moving again. “I take it Arianna has told you everything that has been going on here?”

Raph shrugged. “Pretty much.”

Karai smirked. “Didn’t leave much for the rest of us to talk about.”

Raph snorted. “Oh, I’m sure there is plenty left to talk about.”

“I gather most of those questions are for Leo to answer?”

“Some of them, yeah.” Raph muttered, staring at the ground as he walked. The conversation soon turned away from Raph and onto other topics. Raph didn’t participate as the two women caught up with whatever had happened these past couple of days that Arianna was away. Raph listened in and out as they fought through the trees till finally, they arrived at a what looked to be a military camp built in the center of a huge clearing.

Raph stopped at the edge of the jungle, mouth wide in awe. There were four rows of maybe ten domed barracks and an extra six at the end, all painted in dark green. In large coordinated groups, foot soldiers jogged through the area.

Raph counted approximately fourteen-foot soldiers that stood guard outside of the clearings perimeter. Four on their side and four opposite of them. Three stood to the sides of the clearing.

Raph felt a nudge against his side. Arianna leaned up and whispered. “I suggest you put back on your hoodie. While a good portion of these men know about us, there are still a few that don’t.”

Raph nodded and slipped back on the hoodie as Arianna pulled up the hood of hers.

“I can’t believe Leo built all of this.” Raph said, still in shock.

Arianna smiled smugly. “Watch out. Don’t want a fly to get in your mouth.”

Raph glared at the girl who continued to look amused. Together, they walked over to the three nearest soldiers, Karai taking the lead. Raph noticed that each soldier was armed with unique weapons of their own and as they came closer, those weapons were instantly raised and pointed at them.

“Stand down, boys. Arianna has returned and she brought a friend.” Karai announced, patting the shoulder of the soldier on her left. The weapons were cautiously lowered but were not put away.

Arianna lifted her hoodie just enough so they could see her face. Smiling, she waved at them. “Hi guys. Miss me?”

Two of them waved back. The third grinned through his mask and said, “Hey Ari. How’s it hangin?”

Arianna shrugged to the third soldier. “Pretty good. I successfully kidnapped a person today.”

The two soldiers immediately looked at Raph while the third laughed. “That’s our girl!”

“Alright, alright. That’s enough. Time to get back to work boys.” Karai interjected and the three bowed respectfully and returned to their posts. She turned to Arianna next, “Do you wish to give Raphael the tour or shall I?”

Arianna waved Karai away. “No. I got him this far. Mine as well take him the rest of the way.”

Karai chuckled, “Okay then. I guess I will see you later, Raphael.”

Raph nodded. “Sure.” If he would be around by then, that is.

The two watched as the woman turned and left to go about her business before Arianna twined an arm around his and pulled him deeper into the camp. Raph could still feel the soldier’s eyes on his back, making him extremely paranoid. He felt suddenly vulnerable and naked as he realized he didn’t have his sais with him anymore. Heck, not even a small weapon with which to defend himself with.

“So, what’s with the military-esk barracks?” Raph asked, trying to distract himself from the unsettling feeling.

“Well, the barracks were the most efficient way to keep order of all our nine hundred and fifty-two soldiers. There are currently twenty-six barracks that house thirty-six soldiers in each, plus the extra eleven in one barrack and five in the others for our instructor’s. We have two barracks for rec rooms. Four cafeterias. One storage. A medical bay. Laundry. Four showers. And a partridge in a pair tree. Also, we have one barrack for Dad and I and one for Aunt Karai. And four new barracks currently being built.”

Raph’s eyes bugged at this news. “Nine hundred and fifty-two?”

Arianna sighed. “Yeah, sad isn’t it? We’re just short of forty-eight men till we reach a thousand which isn’t nearly enough to take on Shredder’s millions.”

Raph shook his head in disbelief. “How the hell do you train all of them?”

“We train them in groups in separate times of the day. There are seven instructors, including Dad and Aunt Karai, that each train three of the twenty-one groups that contain around forty-eight soldiers. Give or take a few extras. Two in the early morning, back to back. And one in the late afternoon. A couple of instructors like to wait until the evening for their seconds and/or third groups just because it tends to get crowded sometimes.”

“Dad and Aunt Karai have been training a few more soldiers for their Leader Ranks. If we can get more instructors, it could lighten the load of the schedule by a lot.” Arianna explained casually.

“Did you have to memorize all of that?” Raph asked, impressed.

Arianna shrugged. “Sometimes I help Aunt Karai with the inventory.” The two moved off the dirt road as forty-eight foot soldiers jogged passed them in an orderly group.

“I will admit, it feels weird walking among the foot soldiers.” Raph muttered. He still felt uncomfortable being there but he was slowly relaxing.

Arianna smiled, “Don’t worry. As long as you behave they won’t give you any trouble.”

Raph smirked. “Can’t guarantee that.”

“I don’t think you want nine-hundred and fifty-two men on you, Raph.”

“Bring em on.”

Arianna laughed and lead him down to the fifth row of barracks. Raph counted only two barracks while one barrack was fully built without the paint and the other three barracks were still in mid-build. Arianna spread her arms as they walked up to the first barrack in the row.

“Welcome to mi casa.” Arianna announced proudly. The building didn’t look any different from the rest other than the small sign next to the door that read Hamato Leonardo. Raph felt this odd sense of surrealism as he stood outside the door that separated him from Leo. He couldn’t believe he was here after so many years with an entire ocean between them. It felt like a dream and at any minute he was going to wake up back in New York, in his apartment, in his bed, alone.

Arianna’s words were muffled to Raph’s ears as she said, “Dad should be back from training by now.” She looked back at him and frowned.

“Hey, you okay?”

Raph swallowed thickly, his hands suddenly clammy. Slowly, he nodded. He jumped a little when he felt her small hand squeeze his bicep.

“It’s going to be fine. Just let me do all the talking, okay?” Arianna smiled gently. Raph took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. He nodded.

Arianna tugged out another set of keys from her pocket. Quickly flicking through them, she chose one and unlocked the door.

“Dad, I’m home.” Arianna said as she walked into the barrack. Raph slowly followed. Inside, the curved walls were painted an antiseptic white and the floors were a polished grey concrete. Surprisingly, the place didn't look like a typical barrack but rather a very ordinary family home. The room was rather narrow and not very spacious but it fit a small television set and a glass display case filled with weapons as well as a coffee table, chair, and a couch. And on that couch, laid wrapped in a passionate embrace with an unknown woman was the man himself, Leonardo Hamato.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, looks like Leo was keeping busy while Arianna was away. Woo *fans self* Leo the casanova! Poor Raphie ain't going to like this! Raise your hand if ya'll expected this during Raph and Leo's reunion. *Raises hand*
> 
> Anyway, this chapter was posted a lot later than expected, but hey, it's one hour from the twenty forth for me so, I'm not apologizing! I kept my promise for once! I'm incredibly tired right now, but decided to still post it because I love ya'll. I don't know when exactly the next chapter will be out but we'll be looking at about a week and a half to two weeks.
> 
> Comments are appreciated, especially with how badly I want to sleep now. And I hope you enjoyed this.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any TMNT characters. Just Arianna and Leo's 'ladylove.'


	6. I Understand

Raphael didn’t know what to think or how to feel. He was dazed, numb, and a little queasy. This lasted for several long seconds as he watched the scene before him like he was watching a movie. Then, different emotions came one after the other. He felt confused first, then hurt, and then, of course, angry. Raph knew he had no right to feel any of that. Him and Leo were no longer together. They were free to go and be with whomever they wanted.

And yet, some sick part of Raph was really hoping that Leo would be suffering without him just as much as Raph was suffering without Leo. The fact that, that was not the case placed a very sour feeling in Raph’s gut. More than anything, he wanted to turn around right now and head back home. Or better yet, head to the nearest gas station or market and grab another carton of beer.

He didn’t though. Knowing that Arianna would just hunt him down and drug him again.

Raph opened his mouth to say something when an explosion next to him cut him off.

“What the hell is this?” Arianna shouted, surprising Raph by the capacity of her volume. He watched in awe as her cheeks bloomed with a rosy tint and her hands flung into the air. She stomped over to the couple and, taking the woman by her hair, she yanked her off of Leo.

The woman shrieked in a mixture of outrage and fright. She struggled against Arianna, trying to pry her hair from the girl’s fist.

Leo sat up, looking shocked. “Arianna? You’re back?”

“Obviously. Glad to know you were keeping busy.” Arianna grumbled and released the woman. She tumbled to the ground with an ‘off’ before scrambling back to her feet and taking off, not through the front door, but farther into the barracks. There was a slam of a door but the two didn’t seem to notice.

Raph wasn’t sure how but Leo didn’t seem to have noticed him yet as he glared at the girl. “Hey, this was your idea. You said I should get out more and I did. What more do you want? And where the hell have you been for the past three days, young lady? I was worried sick!”

“Didn’t Aunt Karai talk to you?”

Leo growled. “She told me she didn’t know where you were going or for how long, but she told me not to worry.”

“Well, apparently, you didn’t listen to her.” Arianna said, pouting.

“Answer my question, Arianna. Where have you been?”

“I will get to that in a second, Dad. Just calm down. I want you to meet someone first.”

Leo slowly rose from the couch. Giving Raph the perfect view to take in the older turtle. And he was much older now than the last time he saw him, and bigger. While still leaner than Raph, Leo had definitely gained some sick mass. He also collected a lot more battle scars than Raph remembered him having before, which just completed the rough and tough look Leo had going for him. Which, if he was honest with himself, fit perfectly with Leo. But he wasn’t being honest with himself because if he was, he would be saying crap like how Leo’s skin still looked as sexy and delicious as before albeit paler than usual. Which he couldn’t do.

Leo grabbed and slung over his shoulders, a black trench coat that had seen better days. His eyes narrowed on Arianna but for some reason, the way Leo did it, just seemed off to Raph.

“You brought someone with you?” Leo said. Raph was thoroughly confused. How did he not notice him yet?  
Arianna bit her lip and wrung her hands nervously. “Yes, I believe you may already know him?”

Leo’s body stiffened and his head snapped to where Raph was standing, but something was so strange about it all. It was like Leo wasn’t looking at him but passed him, like Raph was transparent or something.

Leo’s nose lifted in the air and sniffed. Slowly, he began to walk over to him, still sniffing. His fingers clenching and unclenching, a cautious move. Raph was stumped. How could Leo not notice him? Unless . . . 'shit.'

It seemed so obvious now! There was only one explanation but Raph hadn’t considered it even as its been slapping him in the face.

As Leo came closer, Raph could see the twin scars that crossed over Leo’s maskless face and both eyes in the shape of an ‘x’. Raph also noticed how much paler Leo’s beautiful sapphire eyes were now. Like a turquoise.

Leo was blind!

“Oh my god.” The two said in unison but neither acknowledged it. Raph was about to say something else when Leo quickly spun away from him.

“What is he doing here?” Leo demanded angrily to Arianna.

Raph was far too much in shock to be hurt by the remark.

“How did you know?” Arianna whined.

“I have other senses you know. Now answer me this time!”

“I brought him here, okay?”

“Actually, she kidnapped me.” Raph muttered but neither was listening to him.

“Why the hell would you do that?”

Raph had to agree with Arianna, Leo did look scary when he was pissed. It had been so long since their last argument that he kind of forgotten.

Arianna glanced at him, then down to the ground awkwardly. “Are we going to talk about this now?”

“When else are we going to talk about it?” Leo growled.

Arianna knew that wasn’t a question for her to answer so she sighed and said, “Alright, alright. Just give me a second.”

The girl grabbed onto Leo’s arm and tugged him into the back room where that woman had disappeared in before moving over to him. She grabbed Raph the same way and dragged him over to the couch. 

“Sit.” She commanded, trying to push him down.

Raph didn’t budge. “What am I? A dog?”

“Good enough to be one. Now sit down.” Arianna took out the tranq gun from her bag and pointed it at him.

With a snarl, Raph slowly sank down onto the couch.

“Now, I am going to have a word with Dad and if I come back to find you gone, I swear to God, I will . . .”

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll shoot me. Don’t worry, I won’t budge.”

“Good boy.” Arianna said with a smirk and patted Raph’s head before leaving. Raph waited a few minutes after she had went into the back room before he quickly and silently stood up and raced to the front door.

 

“You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady! I can’t even begin to describe the type of trouble you are in!” Leo shouted as he heard his daughter enter his bedroom. He was pacing back and forth, trying to ignore the thumping going on in his chest and the adrenaline that was running through his system. He should have seen this day coming. He knew keeping Arianna a secret from Raph for so long would eventually come back to bite him in the ass.

Now Raph was here. In his home. After all these years, the man he thought he would never see again, was here. And he hated the way that made him feel.

“I know, I know. And I’m sorry. I should have told you but you know I couldn’t have done that without you trying to stop me!” Arianna argued.

“And why do you think I would have tried to stop you, huh?”

“Because you like being lonely and depressed?” Arianna said dryly, her arms crossing over her chest.

Leo stopped his pacing and stared in the direction he knew Arianna was probably standing. “I am not depressed or lonely. Where did you even get that from?”

Arianna scoffed, agitated. “Uhm, who do you think, Dad? I’m not the one that’s blind here. You should see yourself! You look horrible!”

Leo glared. “You better watch that tone of yours.”

Arianna huffed and rolled her eyes. “At least I’m being honest here, unlike somebody. You’re hurting yourself Dad and you won’t admit it!”

Leo opened his mouth to continue the argument but quickly decided against it. He sighed heavily and massaged the place between his eyes. “Even if I did admit it, which I’m not, what good would bringing Raph here do other than reopening old wounds?”

“It would help because it would give you a purpose in your life.”

Leo laughed harshly and shook his head, resuming his pacing. “I got a purpose, Arianna. I have over nine hundred men to train daily. I don’t have time to be depressed.”

Arianna snorted. “And yet, just last week you had to pawn off your soldiers to somebody else because you were sick.”

Leo threw his hands in the air. “It was food poisoning!”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You don’t eat enough to give you food poisoning.”

Leo huffed. “Oh my god, Arianna. You’re being ridiculous and overprotective.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You the king of overprotective fathers. . .”

“Oh my god.” A feminine voice gasped from Leo’s left. Arianna looked over to find the woman from before sitting in the bed with the sheets wrapped around her. “You’re gay?”

“Yes, he is.” Arianna answered for Leo. “Now, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get out.”

The woman ignored Arianna and stared straight at Leo despite he could not see her. “Leo, is this true?”

Leo didn’t respond. He wasn’t even looking at her. He was just staring at Arianna with a stony expression on his face. Arianna watched as the woman slid off of the bed, pulling her straps that hung off her shoulders of her little black dress back up, and walk over to her father. Leo still didn’t look at her.

“Leo, please, talk to me.”

She would have had an easier time getting a response out of a statue. The woman placed her palm against Leo’s bicep. Finally, the turtle looked over at her. The same impassiveness on his face.

“Yes. I am.” He said. His tone matching his expression.

It took a moment for the woman to react but when she did, she was livid. “So, what, was I just your little play thing? A notch on your bedpost? Did I mean nothing to you?”

Leo raised a brow and said softly, “You were good while it lasted.”

Arianna had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh as the woman gasped in outrage, her body literally trembling with her anger. Immediately, she lifted up her hand and smacked it across Leo’s cheek. The turtle was barely fazed.

“I think it’s best if you leave now.” Leo muttered.

“Yes, I think so.” The woman said, her voice wobbling.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Arianna said as she held open the door for the woman to walk through. “I trust you can find your own way out?”

The woman lifted up her chin and stomped angrily away, flipping Arianna off as she passed.

“Bitch.” She whispered.

“Arianna.” Leo snapped. “Language.”

“Fine.” Arianna slammed the door shut. “Slut. How’s that? Better?”

Leo sighed irritably and shook his head before sitting down on his bed. Arianna sat down next to him. “Seriously though, you have the weirdest taste in lovers, Dad. I mean, how do you go from Raph to Aunt Karai, to this chick?”

“I guess I have a thing for hotheaded people.” Leo said with annoyance.

Arianna chuckled. “Obviously.”

“I should not have told you all those stories.” Leo said regretfully as he laid back onto the mattress and stared upwards into the perpetual darkness that engulfed him.

Arianna followed, resting her head on his shoulder. “Those stories prove my point, Dad. I don’t know if you noticed or not, you talk a lot about my Uncles and Grandpa Splinter but you tend to tell more stories that involve Raph. Tell me honestly that you don’t miss him.”

Leo wrapped his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. He knew what she was trying to do and he couldn’t fault her for it. She was only trying to help him after all.

“I miss him, Arianna. I do. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him.” Leo sighed heavily. His chest suddenly aching. “However, that doesn’t mean I want him back in my life again. I love him. I will always love him. But our relationship is meant to remain a fond memory. We’re no good for each other, Ari. We can’t keep each other happy.”

Leo explained as best as he could, hoping that his daughter would understand. Hoping that she wouldn’t continue to argue with him. He was exhausted already and his heart couldn’t continue to deny how much he wanted Raph back in his life. If she didn’t give up now, he doubted he would continue to resist, and that scared him the most.  
There was a long, tense, moment of silence. Arianna’s fingers were playing with the button on his coat, a habit she had from day one, when finally, she said, “I understand, Dad.”

Leo sighed with relief.

“I’m sorry that I did this. I know it must be hard for the both of you to be reminded of the past.” She spoke softly. Leo pulled his daughter close enough so he could kiss the top her head. He was unhappy with the situation to say the least, but he knew this was for the best.

“But, I can’t let you go on feeling this way. You both need each other whether you like it or not and I intend to prove it.” A moment later, Leo felt something sharp stick him in the side of his neck.

“What that hell? What did you do?” Arianna quickly got off him as Leo sat up and tugged out the object. He rolled it around in his hand, trying to figure out what it was. It was long and solid, like a tube, with a fuzzy end to it. Leo’s brain was quickly slowing and he found it hard to keep track of his thoughts. Then, it all came together. He had just gotten drugged! His own daughter had drugged him!

“I’m so sorry, Dad. Please, please, don’t ground me for this.”

“Arianna!” Leo yelled furiously. He tried to stand up but he felt disoriented. He didn’t know where he was at anymore. Where his daughter stood. What direction he faced. He felt completely lost and sick to his stomach.  
Leo couldn’t even feel the bed as he collapsed against it and slowly slid down to the floor. He could hear his daughters voice talking to him but it sounded distant. Then, there was silence.

 

Arianna stared guilty at her father’s unconscious form on the bedroom floor. She knew this wasn’t the most reasonable way of handling this situation, but it was the easiest. She knew, for a fact, just how stubborn these two can be and if she didn’t take care of this situation now, she was going to lose her one golden opportunity. The answer was simple now: she was going to have to force them to see reason. And she was not going to be sorry for how she was planning on doing that.

Arianna took the dart from Leo’s hand and tossed it back into her bag before she grabbed out her tranq gun, checking it to make sure it was loaded.

“One down and one to go.” She murmured to herself as she opened the bedroom door and walked out into the living room. She wasn’t surprised to find it empty.

“Damn it.” Arianna growled and took off out the open door. Raph was nowhere in sight. She ran over to the nearest group of men.

“Hey!” She shouted to them, grabbing their attention. “Did any of you see a guy running through here? He was dressed in sweat pants and a blue hoodie?”

They nodded. One of them pointed towards the woods. “He ran that way. Do you need us to go get him for you?”

Arianna smiled gratefully. “No, but if one of you would like to help I would appreciate it.”

Needless to say, all three didn’t seem to have much to do at the moment and they followed her into the woods. Arianna spotted footprints beneath the brush. They ran for what felt like forever but Arianna already knew where Raph was heading, to the dock where Aunt Karai’s boat sat. How he was planning on starting it up without the keys, she didn’t know, but she wasn’t about to underestimate the older turtle.

Finally, they had reached the dock. Bursting through the palms, Arianna spotted Aunt Karai’s boat still tied to the dock, but Raph wasn’t in it.

Frowning, Arianna raised her gun and silently walked over to it, the other two still close behind her.

Suddenly the boat roared to life much to Arianna’s surprise and Raph popped up from the boats floor. His eyes widened when he saw her. She pulled the trigger but Raph smoothly dodged her dart and pressed onto the throttle. The boat began to speed away, ripping a piece of the dock off from where the rope had been tied.

Arianna immediately leapt for it without a second thought. Her feet narrowly missing the stern so she grabbed onto the cleat. The water stung as the boat dragged her through it but her shell mostly kept her protected. She had no plan from here, she didn’t have the strength to pull herself up, so it was just her hanging on for dear life. She cried out, her fingers slowly slipping from the wet handle and her muscles aching. She could hardly breathe as salt water splashed into her nose and mouth, burning her sinuses and throat. She was beginning to panic with the thought of drowning and was about to let go when the boat slowed down.

“Dear god, lady!” Raph said from above her.

Arianna panted for air, her head resting against the boats stern. She was exhausted. If Raph wished to run away from her now, she wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it.

Arianna felt hands grab her from under he arms and pull her out of the water. She leaned heavily against Raph as he guided her over to the seats and sat her down.

“F-F-Freeze.” She stuttered.

Raph smirked. “You know you don’t have your gun anymore, right?”

Arianna weakly smiled. “I know. But I’m not going to let you go anywhere.”

“I gathered as much.” Raph said as he dug around the drawers from under the benches seats till he finally found a towel. He wrapped it around her shoulders. “But I’m not sure how you’re going to manage it.”

“I will hunt you down. I’m a good tracker.” Arianna whispered as she pulled the towel tightly around her. Her body shivering from the wind that blew against her wet skin.

Raph scoffed and shook his head. “God, you’re stubborn.”

Arianna chuckled. “I get it honest.”

They remained silent for several minutes with nothing but the sloshing of the waves against the boats hull and the seagulls cawing above them.

Eventually, Raph sighed and placed his forehead into his hands. “I can’t go back, Arianna. I just can’t. I’m not emotionally strong enough to handle this shit.”

Arianna reached between her towel to squeeze Raph’s knee. “I know. Don’t worry. You don’t have to go back.”

Raph raised his head and looked confusingly at her. She smiled. “I’ll take you back myself.” Before Raph could do anything, Arianna lunged for him. A dart clutched in her opposite hand and she stabbed the side of his neck with it.

Raph winced and shoved her away. “Ah, fuck!” Raph snarled as he yanked out the dart and threw it far into the water.

The two glared at one another for a long period of time before Raph huffed and sat back down on the bench, seeing no point in fighting it when he had already lost. He leaned his head against the neck rest and stared up into the blue sky that was quickly changing color as the sun started setting. He could feel the drugs spreading through him and his head drifting away. He felt like he was flying now that he just sat there and took it all in. It was a peaceful feeling, and he allowed his eyes to drift shut.

“I’m sorry, Raph.” He heard Arianna’s voice slowly fading away.

With the little strength Raph had left, he lifted up his hand and flipped her off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well lookey here! Another chapter! Yes!
> 
> So, I bet you guys are glad that I didn't decide to make Leo's relationship with the 'unknown woman' an actual thing. Naw, the man had his needs to satisfy. Nothing more. But goodness I had considered it for a little bit as I rewrote this chapter. However, that would have messed everything I had already written up. So there you go guys! I'm sure Raph and Arianna are relieved. Lol
> 
> And again, Arianna is just not going to take 'no' for an answer. Will you ever learn Raph?
> 
> Also, I'M TAKING STORY REQUESTS for anybody interested! It can be RxL or some other couple. It can be t-cest or brotherly love. I don't care. My inspiration is running low on this story and if I want to keep at it, I need something to do. The only rules are to keep it one-shot material and no Splinter-cest. If anybody has something for me, then leave a comment or PM at Inkbunny, the second place where I'm posting this story. The name is the same.


	7. Our Fates Are Tied

When Raphael awoke again, he was back in the barracks inside a smaller room with the same walls and floors. There was only a single locker in one corner of the room and a night stand beside the bed he sat on. He guessed this was a bedroom but it looked very cold and bland. There were no colors, not even pictures to make it seem lived-in. 

The memories soon followed and Raph sighed with exasperation. This was getting so pathetic it wasn’t even funny anymore. How could a girl, so young, be able to beat him like this? 

Someone groaned from behind Raph, startling him. Raph tried to turn around to see who it was, but was unable to due to the ropes that bound his arms to his torso. Raph wiggled a little, testing out its durability when he heard another groan from behind him, this one stronger and lot more recognizable.

“Leo?” Raph called, trying to look over his shoulder to the turtle he was tied to.

“R-Raph?” Leo croaked, his voice hoarse. Raph couldn’t see much but he could tell Leo was shaking his head and looking around.

“You okay?”

“No. My head hurts.” Raph felt a tug against their bonds, then heard a, “What the?” There was more squirming with little result, then finally stillness.

“What is this? What happened?” Leo asked.

Raph snorted. “Your daughter, that’s what happened.”

“Shit.” Leo muttered and began wriggling again.

“You’re wasting your time Leo. She knotted these tight. You teach her that?” Raph asked.

Leo grumbled. “Unfortunately, yes.”

Raph smirked. “She’s a sweetheart.”

The conversation fell into silence shortly after that and Raph couldn’t help but feel weird for talking with Leo after all this time. It seemed so natural. His brain already coming up with all the witty come-backs whenever Leo said something. Like he’d been tossed back in time to when they were teenagers constantly teasing and bantering with each other. Raph couldn’t lie, it was nice.

Leo was the first to break the silence though. “I’m guessing she’s already told you everything?”

“Oh, you mean the part about where my DNA was also installed into her? Yeah, yeah, she told me about that.” Raph said sarcastically.

Another long moment of silence, then a heavy sigh from Leo. “I didn’t want you to find out this way.”

Raph scoffed. “Did you even plan on telling me?”

“Yes!” Leo snapped defensively. Paused. “ . . . Eventually.”

“Right, and when was that going to be, when she was thirty maybe?” Raph shook his head. “Seriously Leo, it’s been seventeen years. I mean . . . I can understand it might have taken you a little while to figure it out but once you did, why wouldn’t you tell me? This is freakin big news Leo! I mean, we have a daughter for fucks sake!”

“I know!” Leo slumped, causing the rope to tighten. “I know. . . I should have. I just. . . I didn’t think you would want to know. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to put up with me because of her.”

“You didn’t even give me the choice!” Raph retorted angrily. Already an argument was brewing and they haven’t even been awake for five minutes.

“Then tell me, Raph. If I had given the choice, would you have felt required to stay with me for her?”

Raph paused but he already knew his answer. “I would have liked to get to know my daughter, yes. But no, Leo, I wouldn’t have forced you to be with me because of her. She doesn’t need it.”

As quickly as it began, the anger dissolved back into silence again. Raph wanted to say more but he didn’t think any of it would help. So, he continued to sit there, staring at the white walls and wondering what Leo could be thinking.

Finally, he said. “I’m sorry, Raph. I should have told you. That was wrong of me.” Raph quickly looked at Leo over his shoulder but all he saw was the back of Leo’s head.

“I just. . .” He continued. “I just thought I was doing you a favor. I didn’t want to force you to be around someone you hated.”

Raph’s chest tightened with his guilt as their harsh words replayed in his head, and in response to his shame, he retaliated with anger. “Oh bullshit!” Raph blurted. “Admit it Leo, this has nothing to do with my feelings. You were just too chicken-shit to face me. You didn’t want to mess up your perfect little life again by returning to the whole reason you abandoned us.”

Raph could feel the body behind him stiffen. “Abandon you?” Leo exclaimed in outrage. “What the fuck are you. . .” Whatever argument Leo had was abruptly interrupted by the bedroom door swinging open and the cause of their situation walking in. 

“Oh my god, shut up! I leave the room for five minutes to go to the bathroom and you guys wake up and start arguing.” Arianna grumbled as she shut the door behind her and walked over to them, quickly checking to see if their bindings had loosened any. They must not have because she didn’t even touch them before she moved away from them.

“Arianna.” Leo growled. Incredibly pissed off.

Arianna smiled and went over to Leo. Raph couldn’t see her but he could hear her as she said, “Yes dear daddy of mine?”

Raph grunted as Leo leaned forward, tightening their ties a little. “Release us right now.”

“Sure.” She said. “On one condition.”

“No. I am not bargaining with you, young lady.”

“Well, you’re not exactly in a position to be giving orders right now, Dad.”

Raph could feel the vibrations of Leo’s snarls through their shells. “I’ll give you orders because I am your father and if you don’t untie us right now, I’m going to give you hell so help me child.”

Raph had to bite his lip to stifle his laughter. Completely entertained by the ordeal. He should be just as pissed off as Leo by this situation, but for some reason, listening to Leo talking in parent language was amusing to him.

“Sorry Dad but I just can’t do that. Not until you hear me out.”

Leo sucked in some more air to protest when Raph finally interfered. “Come on, Leo. Let’s just hear what she has to say first.”

“Do not tell me how to handle my daughter, Raph.” Leo snapped.

“I wasn’t. I was just saying that maybe. . .”

“You know what, Raph? Maybe you should just stop saying things for once in your life.”

Raph scoffed. “Hey, you’re the one getting all pissed off.”

“And who’s fault do you think that is?”

“Not mine. You’re the one that brought up this fucking conversation.”

“I was apologizing, but you made me regret even doing that!”

“So, you regret being sorry for not telling me that I have a daughter?”

“When you’re this much of an asshole, yes! My daughter does not need that kind of role-model in her life.”

“Oh, like you’re a perfect dad. You abandoned the rest of your family.”

“What the hell is with you and this abandonment? I did not abandon you!”

Raph laughed. “For fuck’s sake Leo, you left us there in fucking New York for twenty-three years to go hide out on a remote island while we fended for ourselves!”

“I kept in touch! I called Mikey every week!”

“But would you have even known if we had died in between then? What would you have done if we had gotten kidnapped by the Shredder? Nothing, that’s what! Because you’re on the other fucking side of the damn world, Leo!”

“Enough!” Arianna’s voice shouted overtop their loud arguing. Both turtles fell silent as they turned their attentions to the girl. Arianna stared down at them as if she was the mother looking down on two naughty children, her arms akimbo.

Raph was panting and shaking from the adrenaline rush as he usually did during a fight with Leo. The familiarity with this feeling was frightening. Taking him back to the day his life had changed so drastically.

This was why Raph didn’t want to come here. This was exactly what he knew would happen. The two were like rabid dogs trapped in a cage together, they could not stop fighting each other. Their alpha personalities enabled them with a need to always come out on top, no matter what.

“Arianna. . .”

Leo began, a touch gentler than before, but was cut off as Arianna’s hand rose to stop him and said, “Don’t.” She sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing the spot in between. She was obviously incredibly annoyed with them.

“This is absolutely ridiculous, this grudge you still hold against each other. Why is it, that after these twenty-three years of absence, the first thing you guys want to do when you see each other is yell at each other for something so stupid?” Raph might have been amused by this, a teenage girl giving two full grown men a lecture about maturity, if it didn’t look so sad.

“I mean, come on guys! The world is falling apart around us and all you can think of doing is arguing about who said what and who did what? Does winning this argument matter more to you then keeping your families safe? For goodness sakes, the whole family split apart because your prides got injured! Yes, it hurts but it’s going to hurt more if someone dies and the last thing they remember is the other telling them they hated them! Is that how you want your story to end?”

Silence answered Arianna’s question as the two turtles tied together allowed her words to sink in. They knew she was right as reluctant as they both were to admit it. Their prides stinging with their shame.

Raph was the first to speak. “She has a point.”

Leo didn’t respond right away, but after another minute passed of tense silence, Raph heard the turtle sigh in defeat.

“What’s this condition you have?”

Raph hadn’t expected that from Leo but he supposed it was better than nothing. Arianna though, looked relieved. A small smile formed as she said, “Raph will be staying here for a while now because of the upcoming storm, so unless you two want to be tied together for an entire week. That includes my feeding you by hand and you two having to take a shit together . . .”

“Arianna.” Leo growled.

“Sorry. Take a crap together. Then you two are going to have to learn fast how to get along. So, no squabbling. No insulting. No trying to push each other’s buttons unless you want to be bound up again. And next time, you’ll be tied facing each other. Now, we have an agreement?”

Another bout of silence.

Then reluctantly, Raph said, “I can try to get along with Leo, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

It was only for a week after all. How hard could it be?

Leo took a little longer to reply but eventually he nodded. “I’ll try too.”

Arianna grinned victoriously and clapped her hands together. “Great! One big happy family!”

Raph wasn’t so sure of that but he had convinced himself that if he could avoid Leo for twenty-three years, he could avoid Leo for seven measly days. Piece of cake.

Arianna had pulled out that dagger that Raph had been admiring in the car and began cutting through the ropes. Raph could feel a tingly sensation as his blood was finally released into the rest of his arms. When they were fully freed, Raph shook his limbs out and rotated his joints that were cramping up.

Finally, after a full two minutes had gone by, Raph worked up the nerve to face the turtle he had been tied to. Leo had his back to him, repeating the same exercise Raph had been doing to his own limbs. Apparently, he wasn’t up for some conversation so Raph left him to it.

Arianna sheathed her dagger back into her belt before gesturing to Raph to come with her. “I’ll show you the guest bedroom.”

Raph followed, taking one last glance at Leo who was now stripping off his black trench coat before leaving the bedroom. Arianna was complaining about the decoration of the barracks or something along those lines but Raph wasn’t really listening. Occasionally, he’d glance up to see a room Arianna was showing him but he wasn’t taking it in completely. He was too exhausted to really care. His head was pounding and his body was incredibly achy. He knew those drugs were probably still swimming through his system and making him feel so tired despite you’d think he’d slept long enough, but all he wanted to do now was crash.

Finally, they entered a similar looking bedroom to the one Raph and Leo had been tied in, except this one was just slightly smaller. It was just as plain and impersonal as the rest of the barracks even with Arianna’s decorating abilities, but he wasn’t going to complain. Even the cheap looking mattress and scratchy blankets looked heavenly at this moment.

Arianna walked over and dropped the duffle bag she had been carrying onto the bed. “Sorry about the plainness of the room. I haven’t had the time to decorate in here.”

Raph shrugged. “Better than nothing.”

“If you want, I’ll get a vase of flowers to make the place look comfier.” Arianna smiled teasingly.

“Oh, uhm, you don’t have to.” Raph awkwardly smiled in return.

“It’s no problem. Don’t worry about it.” Arianna waved him away. “Also, the bathroom is right next door.” She pointed right. “And if you need me, shout. I’m in the next bedroom down.” She pointed left.

Raph nodded. “Got it.”

“Oh, and also, if you’re up for it, training begins at six in the morning if you would like to participate.” Arianna offered.

Raph bit on his lip and shrugged again. “Maybe. It’s been a hell of a day, you know?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just think it would be neat to see what you got. Dad has told me about your fighting capabilities and it got me curious.” Arianna said.

“Did he now?” Raph raised a brow.

Arianna nodded. “It’s all good things if that’s what you’re worried about. Even if Dad doesn’t like you, he still admires your fighting style.”

Raph didn’t know how to respond to that so he just nodded. “We’ll see.”

Arianna smiled. “Well, you have a goodnight Raph.”

“You too.”

 

Arianna pulled the guest room door closed and made her way over to her father’s room. She gave it two knocks, not waiting for a reply before walking in. She spotted Leo in front of his locker, hanging up his coat and his other small articles of clothing as he prepared for bed.

“Hey Dad?” She called, but he didn’t look at her.

“I’m still not happy with you.”

“I figured. I just wanted to let you know that Raph might be joining us for training in the morning.” Arianna grinned sweetly as Leo turned his wide-eyed stare on her.

“He’s what?”

“You heard me. As our guest, I decided it was only polite to invite him along.”

“Arianna, you didn’t.” Leo growled.

“Goodnight Dad.” Arianna waved and immediately shut the door before Leo could rein her in for another lecture. Feeling accomplished, she walked over to her own room with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy - belated - 4th of July! I apologize in my lateness to get this chapter out. I had family over for about two weeks and then I didn't want to post on a holiday where everybody would be too busy celebrating to read, so I waited a bit. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday celebrating our independence!
> 
> And finally, we get some Raph and Leo interaction! They're having a little bit of a rusty start but it'll take them a little bit to get back into the swing of things. Arianna will make sure of that. ;-)
> 
> Also, I wanted to bring into light that I will be posting some one-shots in between the BP chapters. Some will have heavy t-cest, some light, and some none at all. You will be able to find them in the near future soon! And, the offer on story requests is still on the table for anyone interested.


	8. A Rude Awakening

Raph groaned in pain from the shell cell’s buzzing alarm he had set for five-thirty that morning, awakening him. He was tempted to shut it off and skip the training Arianna had offered him to do but he knew he wouldn’t be feeling any better until he got up and started moving around. The only way to overcome the jetlag was to adjust to the new time frame as soon as possible, and also, it would work the rest of those drugs out of his system. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he found out he had died from overdose.

Slowly, Raph rolled his aching body out of bed and shut off his alarm. He yawned and shuffled over to the door and down the hallway to where Arianna said the bathroom was. After a good, long piss, a hot shower was definitely in order.

Half asleep still, Raph felt around with his hands till he found the door knob and thrusted the door open.

“Hey!” Someone yelped from the other side as he banged them with the door. A moment later there was a crash against porcelain and rustling of a shower curtain.

Raph’s eyes blinked back open. Hesitantly, he peeked around the door to see who he had hit. Muscular, mint green legs were slung over the edges of the bathtub, the shower curtain had been yanked down from the bar, and water rained from the shower head. There was no doubt of who Raph had hit.

Raph cautiously entered the small bathroom and tapped Leo on the knee. The turtle didn’t even twitch, meaning, he was definitely unconscious.

“Shit.” Raph swore. He leaned over the tub to shut off the water before looking around for a towel he could use. He found one large enough folded underneath the sink and, opening it wide, he draped it over Leo’s motionless form and padded him dry before scooping him up. The turtle weighed more than Raph had remembered him weighing but it didn’t make too much of a difference to him as he carried Leo into the living room and laid him down on the couch.

“What happened? I heard a crash.” Arianna appeared into the living room a second later, sleepy-eyed and dressed in an overly large shirt for her slender body. The back of the shirt had been cut out to give room for her shell. She paused at the doorway of the room and blinked at them.

“Uhm, did I interrupt something?”

Raph rolled his eyes. “No. There was a little accident in the bathroom and Leo got knocked out. Do you happen to have anything to help him wake up with?”

Arianna smiled slyly. “Oh, a little accident, eh?”

Raph glared at her. “I’m not in the mood for this. Can you please get him something? A blanket maybe? The shower water was cold.”

Arianna raised her hands in surrender but she still looked amused. “Yeah, sure. We got some smelling salts in the medicine cabinet that should work.”

“Also, get an ice pack. He's gonna have a helluva bump after that fall.”

Arianna nodded and disappeared down the hall. It only took her a few minutes to return with his requested items in hand. She handed him the ice pack to position under Leo’s head and set down the little black bottle that read, ‘Wake up, Motherf****r’ onto the coffee table before unfolding the blanket and throwing it onto Leo.

She kneeled beside Raph and grabbed the bottle to open it. Then, she held it beneath Leo’s nose and waited patiently.

It didn’t take long for Leo to react, he snorted and scrunched his noise and a second later his eyes blinked open. He raised his hand from beneath the blanket, trying to swat away Arianna.

“What happened?” Leo groaned and tried to sit up but Arianna held him down.

“Relax dad, you’re alright. Raph just knocked you unconscious.” Raph glared and nudged Arianna’s shell with his knee. She grinned in response.

“On accident.” She added as an afterthought. “You’ll be tender for a while but it’s nothing too serious.”

Nothing that Arianna had just said seemed to register to Leo as he stared off into space. Of course, that could just be because he was blind. But eventually, his eyes began to move around, not focusing on anything obviously.

“Arianna?”

“Right here, Dad.” She said in a gentle voice and grabbed onto Leo’s hand. Slowly, Leo began to sit up for the second time and Arianna helped him. Leo groaned in pain and Arianna looked like she was having a hard time supporting his weight so Raph came over to help. He grabbed onto Leo’s right arm and began to lift him off the couch.

Leo stiffened, his eyes wandering around his right side. “Raph?”

“Right here, Leo.”

The two remained silent as they stared at each other. Or rather Raph stared at Leo while Leo just stared in his general direction. It was going to be hard for Raph to get used to that.

Raph hesitated but slowly raised a hand to cup Leo’s cheek. It was warm and dry again and surprisingly soft compared to the rest of Leo’s callused body. Raph’s heart was beating against his chest and he swallowed thickly as memories flooded his head.

Those thoughts were immediately kicked to the curb as Leo suddenly glared and punched him in the jaw. It was honestly a baby slap but it was the unexpectedness that got Raph stumbling backwards.

“Why the hell did you do that, asshole?” Leo snapped. He didn’t sound angry despite what his face said.

A startled chuckle escaped Raph. “Just wanted to make us even.”

Leo snorted. “This just means I’m going to have to get you back for this.”

Raph grinned crookedly. “Looking forward to it.”

Leo felt the back of his head for the bump that had formed and flinched when he found it. He sighed and rubbed his temples, probably to try to soothe the headache he must have.

“Arianna, what time is it?” Leo asked.

“It is . . .” Arianna leaned to the side to see the clock in the kitchen. “Five fifty-eight.”

“Damn it, how long was I out?”

“Longer than the shower you would have taken.”

Leo grumbled and turned to walk back to his room to get ready.

Arianna turned her attention to Raph. “So, are you going to join us for training?”

Raph shrugged. “Well, I’m up and awake so mine as well.”

Arianna smiled. “Great. Then I’ll need to get you a uniform.”

Raph frowned. “Uniform?”

“Yeah, duh. Don’t you remember? Not everyone knows what we are so we can’t go running around buck naked.” Arianna waved him along and reluctantly, he followed. She walked up to a hall closet and looked around, then frowned.

“Hey Dad! Where are our spare foot uniforms?” She called out.

“We might have ran out! Hold on, I might have some in my locker!”

Leo came walking out of his bedroom a second later with a black and grey bundle in his arms. Raph’s frown only deepened as he took in Leo’s half-dressed appearance. Leo’s body was garbed from neck to toe in black and grey leather. A red foot symbol stitched into his chest and shoulders.

As Leo handed over the uniform Raph sneered, taking it. “This just feels so wrong.”

Leo smirked. “It’s either that or nothing.”

Raph quirked a brow. “You never had a problem with my wearing nothing.”

Leo frowned and pursed his lips before walking back to his room.

Arianna scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Ignore him. We haven’t yet figured out a new style of uniforms yet so we’ve been using the old foot uniforms for now. Go change and we’ll meet you outside in a minute.”

Still disgusted by this prospect, Raph went back to his own room. He laid the pile onto his bed and lifted up the shirt piece. Raph’s brows furrowed in confusion at the smallness of the size.

“Hey Leo!” Raph called.

Leo appeared at the door after a moment. “Yeah?”

“Is this your idea of a joke because I’m pretty sure I can’t even fit my head in there.” Raph said as he showed Leo the piece.

The corner of Leo’s mouth quirked up as he said, “It’s faux leather. It’ll stretch.”

Raph snorted and eyed the shirt. “Maybe, but I don’t think it’ll stretch that much.”

“Well, you never know until you try.”

Raph huffed and decided to let Leo have his way. Throwing the material over his head, Raph managed to get the shirt just passed his shoulders and biceps but it refused to go any farther than his chest. This was not stretchy material.

“Told you this wasn’t my size.” Raph glanced over his shoulder at Leo.

Leo shrugged. “Hm, maybe I did get your size wrong. Here, take it off and I’ll get you another one.”

Raph grabbed the hem of the shirt and tried to pull it back over his head but the material got stuck around his biceps. Raph tugged but it wouldn’t budge so he tried to lay the shirt back down to get it off a different way but the shirt wouldn’t move.

Raph froze when he heard Leo laughing behind him and he quickly realized that this was the pay back for the shower incident.

“Leo, ya piece of shit.” He growled angrily which only got the turtle to laugh harder.

“I think you forgot that I’m blind, Raph! I can’t see the size tag!” Leo laughed.

“Quit yer laughin and help me ya fucker!”

“Oh, I’m only sorry that I can’t see this right now!” Leo hollered, ignoring Raph’s curses. Raph sighed heavily and waited impatiently for Leo to finish up.

As if things couldn’t get worse, Raph could hear Arianna’s voice as she entered into the chaos. “What the heck is going . . . Raph?” She said, startled.

“Arianna, can you please either help me or smack your dad. Or both.” Raph grumbled.

“Oh my god.” Arianna giggled but at least she had the decency to try to stifle her amusement. Arianna coughed and collected herself before she walked over to Raph and, grabbing the hem of the shirt, they managed to tear it off Raph’s head.

Leo had calmed down by the time it was over. He was smiling and wiping the laugh induced tears from his eyes. “I feel so much better now. Thank you for that.”

Raph flipped Leo the bird while Arianna scooped up the rest of the uniform and left to go find another. She reappeared with another folded black and grey pile and handed them to him. “These are the largest I could find. They might be a little clingy but I don’t think you’ll get stuck in them.”

“Thanks.” Raph muttered and unfolded the shirt. It did look considerably larger than the last one and Raph trusted it enough to try it on. Arianna was right when she said it was clingy but it fit well enough for now.

Arianna gave him a thumbs up before leaving the room. Pushing Leo out with her and giving Raph the privacy to finish changing. It took Raph some self-persuasion but he eventually got up the courage to put the rest of the uniform on. Which, thankfully, fit pretty well.

 

“Yame!” Leo’s authoritative voice boomed for miles overtop the forty-eight soldiers all neatly lined by tens in four rows before him. They were sorted from youngest being in the front for Leo to keep a close eye on; and oldest in the back. All of them listened for Leo’s next set of orders attentively, and once it had been given, all of them would follow with quick precision. It was hard for Raph to believe that most of these soldiers were just mere civilians from the main land and surrounding countries. They were trained well.

Raph would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed by Leo’s progress. Whether or not it was good enough for Shredder was still up in the air but Raph kept his pessimism to himself. After all, he had accused Leo of just lying around on an island, sipping on a pina colada or some shit like that, and not even thinking about the war or his brothers who were fighting it. He suppose it wasn’t fair of him.

Arianna smiled as she spotted Raph in the far corner of the lot they were training at, watching. Arianna was the youngest of the soldiers there. Leo usually only permitting people eighteen and up to join, but obviously, she was the exception.

Arianna tried to wave Raph over but he shook his head. He felt too awkward to just insert himself into this. Especially since he had no idea what Leo was doing. You’d think he would, considering Leo had taken some aspects of Splinter’s training for them into this, but Raph knew there were major changes to it to accommodate the large amounts of people.

Arianna waved again for him to come, catching a few nearby people’s attention. Raph shook his head again.  
Then, there was a sigh from Leo. He glanced over his shoulder at them despite the fact that Raph knew he couldn’t see a damn thing. How the hell he even knew what they were doing was beyond his knowledge.

Leo finally turned back and said, “I have an announcement to make. We have a guest here today that will be training with us for the week that he is here.”

Raph huffed as Leo gestured for him to come over. Reluctantly, Raph made his way to Leo’s side.

“This is Raphael Hamato. He is my brother from New York and I expect everyone here to treat him with the same respect as you do me. Understood?”

Everyone in the crowd shouted, “Yes sir.”

Leo patted Raph’s shoulder before pushing him in towards the end of the first row. “Alright everybody make room. Raph, I want you up front for today.”

“Yes sir.” Raph muttered with a two-fingered salute before moving over next to Arianna. Raph could tell the girl was smiling at him through the mask she wore. She was excited for him being here and Raph couldn’t help feeling the small bit of pride from the attention. Arianna had made it sound like she hadn’t cared about his existence but, for a fleeting moment, Raph played with the idea of her accepting him as her second dad.

The fantasy didn’t last long as another round of orders had been given and Raph was now forced to obey them. After the twenty-minute exercise, to which Raph had purposely showed off by doubling the amount they were required to do in the same time limit, they were ordered to run for the last forty-minutes. When they had returned from the jog, Raph was soaked from sweat and panting heavily. The uniform suddenly clung to his skin now and made him feel incredibly uncomfortable but he put up with it anyway.

It had been a disappointment though that Leo could no longer see him. Raph wondered if Leo would be in the least bit impressed by Raph’s improved shape. He had almost tripled the amount of exercising he had been able to do since the last time they saw each other.

Anyway, as Raph had anticipated, he was now feeling ten times better than he was this morning. His head suddenly seeming a lot clearer now than before. In fact, he felt great!

“Raphael! Up front!”

Raph was startled from Leo’s voice suddenly calling his name. He stopped his stretching and walked up to him.

“Sir yes sir.” Raph said casually.

“You’re going to be my assistant in defensive techniques for a few situations I might find myself in. Are you ready, Raphael?”

Wearily, Raph said, “Sure?”

“Grab my neck.”

Confused and bewildered by this predicament, Raph slowly raised his hands and coiled them around Leo’s neck in a non-threatening manner. It felt weird being this close to Leo and Raph found his mouth going dry and his pulse quickening in response. It was a completely unintimate position but Raph had the sudden and irrational urge to pull Leo closer. Really close.

Leo cleared his throat and Raph quickly shook his head clear. He needed to concentrate!

“From this position,” Leo continued, not missing a beat. “I can grab onto my attacker’s wrist and, with the dominant arm, I elbow his jaw. I can also back fist him in the head.” Leo explained, slowly leading Raph through the motions.

“After that, I’m going to grab his head and knee him. Then, continuing the momentum, I can take him down. From here, he’s in a vulnerable position. Now you can either knock him unconscious or kill him by striking to the head. In battle, either one works so long as you subdue him but killing your opponent guarantee’s you won’t have to deal with him later. Everyone understands?”

“Hai Sensei!”

“Good.” Leo waved for Raph to get to his feet. “Now, in faster timing. Raphael, attack me again. And not like a pussy please. There are soldiers here.”

That got a giggle from the crowd.

Raph smirked and complied. He was fast as he advanced on Leo, but apparently not fast enough because as soon as his hands latched onto Leo’s throat and squeezed to block his air passage, Raph found himself supine and staring up at the blue sky, dazed. His jaw and head mysteriously throbbing now.

“Now, I want you to repeat that with the person to your right. Five times each partner. Hajime!” Leo ordered from above him.

A hand suddenly appeared in front of Raph’s face but Raph slapped it away. Rising to his feet on his own.

“How in the hell did you get so fast?” Raph asked. Still a little confused by the whole event.

“How in the hell did you get so strong? I think I’m going to have bruises on my neck now.” Leo complained though his tone suggested Raph didn’t even come close to hurting him.

Raph snorted. “Too much time on my hands, I guess.”

“Hate to say it but I know the feeling.”

Raph didn’t reply immediately as the two watched the soldiers practice. Eventually, Raph said with amusement, “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

“Oh yes.” Leo smiled underneath the mask. “I’ve been dreaming of the day I could do that to you.”

“How sweet. You’ve been dreamin of me?” Raph said teasingly.

Leo didn’t respond but Raph could hear him chuckling, albeit it was muffled.

“This makes us even now, you know.” Raph added.

“Not even close.” Leo said. Then shouted, “Yame!” And the soldiers separated to face him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, who'd a thunk it! Another update! Yay! Hadn't planned for it but this morning I just woke up and decided it was time to post something new. So here ya'll go! Enjoy some funny brotherly pranks and teasing with some minor sexual undertones. ;-)

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! I bet most people never expected another story from me! In truth, neither did I! (You can be totally honest if none of you actually remember me. Lol)
> 
> Okay, I'll be honest here. My interest for the tmnt fandom is dwindling very fast and I don't have that much motivation to write or draw anything about them. I had found this draft of an old RxL story I had written in the bottom of a cardboard box and thought, eh, why not. I'll rewrite some of it. This is just the prologue to a very large story that is still incomplete and I can't guarantee that I'll ever finish it, but because of a very important friend of mine had encouraged me to and supported me, I've decided to give as much as I can. 
> 
> This story isn't going to be posted as often as my last. I don't know when I will be posting the next chapter, but hopefully it'll be some time between two weeks and next month. But don't quote me on that. 
> 
> Anyway, other than that. I hope you all that do end up finding this, would enjoy whatever amount of the story I do end up posting. And I thank you all that have supported me in the past! :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I never have and never will own TMNT. Credit goes to the original creators.
> 
> This is a t-cest Raph and Leo story. Language and violence is present. And some smut in the future. I advise you to not read if you do not like.


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